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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, NOV 22: Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Monday waved an olive branch towards Pakistan by declaring that he was not averse to talk to the military regime in Pakistan without setting any preconditions.
Vajpayee, however, was careful enough to add a rider. It was Pakistan’s responsibility to provide an atmosphere conducive to dialogue for meaningful parleys, he said.
He thereby, put a stamp on his Principal Secretary, Brajesh Mishra’s statement issued last week saying no dialogue was possible with Pakistan until it stopped supporting cross-border terrorism in India. “We are prepared for talks but a conducive atmosphere has to be created for meaningful dialogue," Vajpayee told reporters after the swearing-in of four Union ministers at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday. Asked whether New Delhi was willing to resume talks with the military regime led by General Pervez Musharraf, Vajpayee said, "We will have to talk to whoever is in power in Pakistan."
Maintaining that India was not attaching anyconditions for the start of the dialogue, he said, “It should not be a dialogue for the sake of it. No condition has been put by us.”
Asked whether his cabinet was complete now or it could be expanded further, Vajpayee said, “It’s enough for now,” thus leaving possibility of another expansion after Bihar Assembly polls, wide open.
