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NEW DELHI: The Manmohan Singh government was most reluctant to host former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf during his visit to India. The
loquacious general was seen as a hindrance to India-Pakistan ties and his attempt to cut a high profile by requesting meetings with the PM, President Pratibha Patil and Congress chief Sonia Gandhi were politely rebuffed.
The general, who was in India on a lecture tour, was keen to use the visit to make a few public interventions, but the government, wary of Musharraf's penchant to play the media and stir controversies, was hardly keen to roll out the red carpet. There was apprehension that Musharraf would dish out his hackneyed proposals on Kashmir, bringing out in the open some back-channel exchanges made during his tenure at a time when the government here is facing elections.
The versions of the two sides of what transpired during these hush-hush exchanges diverge, with India disputing Pakistan's claim that the two sides were close to agreement on Indian Army being pulled out from J&K. The back channel parleys had also covered demilitarisation of Siachen which was stoutly opposed by the Indian armed forces who were quite unenthused by catchy lines like turning the glacial heights into a mountain of peace. Any revelations could have become fodder for the opposition at election time.
The former Pakistani president was indeed given due diplomatic courtesies. A joint-secretary level officer was at hand to receive him and the former general -- a valued target for jihadis, many of whom he supported during his ascendancy -- was given a degree of security cover. But things were consciously kept low-key.
The shadow of 26/11 and the repeated deceptions that Musharraf indulged in with regard to commitments on terrorism have hardly made him a popular figure with Indian foreign policy and security establishments. Seen as a leader who did little to check anti-India jihadis while palming off a dubious joint anti-terrorism mechanism on India, Musharraf was not seen as likely to make a positive contribution in mending the frayed bilateral ties.
Ever seeking a platform to hold forth, Musharraf wanted to instil an official note to his visit by calling on the PM and Sonia. He also wanted to visit Aligarh as his mother had lived there for a while and there was also a proposal to go to Ajmer. Aware that Musharraf had little traction with the Asif Zardari regime and even less with other political players like Nawaz Sharif, the government was quite determined to ensure his visit remained within certain bounds.
The government did not want to annoy the PPP regime in Pakistan by accommodating Musharraf's requests for appointments and also did not feel the necessity for the former army chief to travel to destinations outside Delhi. Even in the Capital, his itinerary was restricted to two engagements. Even there, officials were dismayed to see him peddle his highly coloured versions of the Agra summit and his peace plans for Kashmir which included red herrings like demilitarisation and shared sovereignty.
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