Setting at rest all speculation, the Government today confirmed that President Musharraf would be visiting Delhi to watch a One Day cricket match between India and Pakistan on April 17.According to the Prime Minister’s Office, Musharraf would be spending April 16 night in the Capital.While Kochi as a destination was ruled out because Musharraf was ‘‘preoccupied’’, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s commitments shut out a possible visit by the General for one of the matches in Jamshedpur, Visakhapatnam and Kanpur. Ahmedabad’s April 12 One-Day was not even considered by the two sides.Although the PMO clarified that the Manmohan Singh-Musharraf meeting was not going to be summit-level, it’s learnt that back channels between the two countries have been activated with Satinder Lambah—he’s also convenor of the National Security Advisory Board (NSAB)—being briefed on the issue.The back channel has been dormant ever since National Security Advisor J N Dixit passed away in January. Pakistan NSA Tariq Aziz came to Delhi on January 10 but met only Manmohan Singh. Dixit had finalised with Aziz the agenda for External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh’s visit to Pakistan in February.With Musharraf’s visit now a certainty, interlocutors of the two countries are expected to meet and draw up plans for the meeting at the top.
