Left filled in on visiting neighbours

With Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf coming visiting soon, New Delhi is gearing up to look at the bigger ...

With Chinese premier Wen Jiabao and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf coming visiting soon, New Delhi is gearing up to look at the bigger neighbourhood picture, keeping China in equal focus. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today said the next few days would be crucial in terms of the ‘‘larger neighbourhood’’.

Briefing the UPA’s Left allies on expectations from both visits, Singh said the government was positive towards them as the future of the neighbourhood was at stake. ‘‘The government is not expecting the dispute to be settled immediately but at least a beginning is likely to be made in resolving the dispute,’’ a Left leader, who attended the meeting, told The Indian Express.

Also positive towards Musharraf’s visit, Singh said the government had no problems if Pakistan wanted to talk about Kashmir. ‘‘The peace process with Pakistan is progressing well, with the successful run of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus contributing to the bonhomie. In such a scenario, the PM said they wanted to keep the communication channel open,’’ another leader who was at the meeting said.

CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat later said the Left was satisfied with the briefing and the government’s stand on the impending visits. ‘‘We welcome it as a positive development,’’ he said. Among those who attended the meeting were CPI(M) general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet, Sitaram Yechury, CPI leaders D. Raja and A.B. Bardhan, RSP’s Abani Roy and Debabrata Biswas from the Forward Bloc.

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