Parties back Vajpayee's core concerns on Summit

new delhi: prime minister atal behari vajpayee got an all-party backing on monday as he dismissed pakistan's stand that kashmir had to be treated as the 'core issue' at the agra summit. to islamabad's apparent insistence on inviting hurriyat at pakistan's high commission's tea-party for president pervez musharraf, the political parties seemed to take an even harsher line than the government. they might boycott the party, they said, if the hurriyat conference was invited. broadly, the parties agreed with the government on how the summit between the vajpayee and the pakistan's pervez musharraf was to be approached. nearly 40 leaders from all major political parties took part in the meeting. vajpayee said india had no problem in discussing kashmir, but not as the core issue. he listed cross-border terrorism, easing india-pakistan travel restrictions, and trade as among delhi's concerns. clarifying the government's stand further, he said kashmir was a matter concerning the country's unity and integrity. and not a religious issue. dismissing the talk on the "so-called core issue," vajpayee said india was not shying away from discussing anything. but such narrow, "cliche-ridden approaches had not worked in the past." instead the two countries must address the "core concerns" of their people in their struggle against poverty. at one level, the all-party meeting was another occasion for posturing between delhi and islamabad as they reiterate their known positions ahead of the summit. compared to musharraf however, vajpayee got a fuller backing for across the political spectrum. the communist party of india(marxist) welcomed the prime minister's initiative, and congress president sonia gandhi said her party "fully supported" him. congress welcomed the talks which should be held on the basis of the simla agreement and the lahore declaration, she said echoing the government line. she said the talks should not be on kashmir alone. and they should be the beginning of a process, "which has to be sustained." the congress said the separatist hurriyat conference had no place in the indo-pakistan bilateral dialogue, a point made by most other participants. muslim league's g m banatawala however said the hurriyat conference should be ignored, even if it went to the pakistan high commission's tea party. some participants suggested that tea-party for musharraf should be boycotted if the hurriyat conference was invited. the government said it could not do so: it will send its representatives as protocot demanded from a host country. but other parties could take their own decision. going by what their leaders told reporters at the end of the meeting, at least the bharatiya janata party and the rashtriya janata dal might stay away. the bjp voiced what the government might want to convey to islamabad, but may not do so because of diplomatic niceties. bjp leader v k malhotra said the party felt there was lot of "vicious propaganda" by some pakistani officials and in its media. the talk about "repression" in kashmir was spoiling the atmosphere. the bjp also wanted pakistan to reciprocate to the goodwill gestures announced by india recently. he said while india released nearly a lakh priosners of war in 1971, pakistan still held 54 indians in its custody. he wanted islamabad to let hindus and sikhs control their shrines in pakistan. the rashtriya janata dal advised caution. its leader, raghuvansh prasad singh, reminded that pakistan had struck in kargil after the lahore meeting. it said the government should seek an assurance from pakistan against cross-border terrorism. the rjd was mildly critical of the government inviting a "self-appointed president" and also asked why delhi had changed its mind after insisting that it won't talk to pakistan while terrorism continued. but he said the party was not harping on these points. samajwadi party's mulayam singh yadav also lamented that india had not been able to secure the release of its prisoners of war. yadav also asked the government not to compromise on territory; not "a single inch" of land should be given away. he said even if india and pakistan did not solve any issue at the summit, they should at least agree to find solutions through talks and not through war. "even if this is achieved, it will be good," he later told reporters.