ISLAMABAD, 31 May 2005 — Former Indian Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, who arrived here yesterday, has shortened his tour by two days.
Although no reason has been cited for the change in the program, it is believed that some political developments in India have forced him to shorten his tour. A visit to Hyderabad has been dropped from his itinerary where local police had booked him in the late 40’s for his alleged attempt on the life of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon confirmed that Advani would not go to Hyderabad, as the city was not included in his original schedule.
Advani, who succeeded Atal Behari Vajpayee as the parliamentary leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the Indian Parliament, is visiting Pakistan on the invitation of Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmoud Kasuri.
Advani would be accorded state guest protocol during his stay in Islamabad till June 4. Advani earlier visited Pakistan in 1979 as the then information minister in the Janata Dal government.
During his stay in Pakistan, Advani will meet President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Kasuri, Senate Chairman Muhammad Mian Soomro and National Assembly Speaker Chaudhry Amir Hussain. He is also expected to meet some opposition as well as ruling coalition leaders. Pakistan Muslim League (PML) chief Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain will host a reception in honor of the visiting Indian leader. Advani will also visit Lahore and Karachi during his tour.
The Hindu community in Karachi will also host a reception for Advani.
Advani is seen as being responsible for the collapse of a summit in July 2001 between then Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Musharraf in Agra.
The summit ended abruptly due to a lack of agreement over the Kashmir dispute and Musharraf angrily departed for home early.
But ahead of his visit, Advani painted himself as a peacemaker, telling party colleagues the peace process had been relaunched by the BJP in January last year when it was still in power in New Delhi.
Expressing hope that India and Pakistan would leave the past hostilities, Advani said the ambience between the two neighboring countries today is that of creating a “new future”. “I am happy to note that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his government have continued to carry forward this agenda of peace through dialogue,” he added.
Referring to the joint statement issued in Islamabad on Jan. 6, 2004, after talks between Vajpayee and Musharraf as a “major breakthrough”, he said it brought about a radical change in bilateral relations.
Credit must also be given for valuable contributions made by parliamentarians and functionaries of various parties on both sides of the border, as well as by civil society representatives as media persons, businessmen, lawyers, artists and cultural personalities, Advani said.
