Lahore gets ready for Vajpayee visit

LAHORE, FEB 16: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif intends to make his Indian counterpart's visit to Lahore a memorable one. The city i...

LAHORE, FEB 16: Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif intends to make his Indian counterpart8217;s visit to Lahore a memorable one. The city is being spruced up for the occasion with roads being repaired and residential and commercial areas being cleaned up. 8220;I hope Atal Behari Vajpayee comes every year,8221; said Najam Ali, a Lahore resident, after seeing the preparations for the Indian Prime Minister8217;s visit.

Saturday8217;s bus trip to Pakistan by Vajpayee is a 8220;good beginning,8221; said Pakistan Information Minister Mushahid Hussain. Talking to a foreign news agency in Islamabad, he said: 8220;The balance of terror caused by the nuclear blasts in 1998 by the two countries now has to be stabilised through diplomatic and political initiatives of which Vajpayee8217;s visit is the most significant one.8221;

The Pakistan Information Minister added: 8220;We feel that Vajpayee has taken a very bold initiative8230;he has acted in a very non-traditional manner8230; he has bypassed the Indian establishment8217;s rigid and obsolete approachtowards Pakistan.8221;

The Pakistan Government, however, has two worries about the Vajpayee visit, which is unprecedented in Indo-Pakistan history. For one, the visit coincides with the visit of the Chinese Defence Minister to Pakistan, who arrives in Islamabad a day earlier. Eager not to give any wrong signals to their Chinese allies, the Pakistan PM will leave for Lahore only after a meeting with the Chinese Minister.

Pakistan Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz will not be present for the first day of talks between the Indian and Pakistani leaders. Only after the Chinese minister leaves on Saturday will the Pakistan Foreign Minister join in the deliberations on Sunday.

Another worry for Pakistan is security. The right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami party has already threatened to disrupt Vajpayee8217;s visit. The party, which has its headquarters on the outskirts of Lahore, says that there can be no talk between India and Pakistan till the resolution of the Kashmir dispute. Besides the Jamaat-e-Islami party, thedeteriorating law and order situation has caused a headache for Pakistan8217;s security establishment.

Observers in Pakistan say that the visit may be symbolic in nature but will go a long way in achieving better relations between India and Pakistan. For his part, the Pakistan Prime Minister told Indian journalists at a reception in Lahore on Monday that India and Pakistan should 8220;go beyond stated positions.8221;

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In the final analysis, the Indian PM may achieve what the Indian Army could not do with all its might in the 1965 war. Vajpayee is set to cross into Pakistan at Wagah, and enter Lahore across the BRB Canal, which is Pakistan8217;s first line of defence. 8220;Not only that, he will be presented the keys to the city by Lahore8217;s mayor at the civic reception being held in his honour,8221; says a journalist, adding 8220;what more does an Indian PM want?8221;