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Amid massive Security Musharraf to watch cricket with Manmohan, Vajpayee
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf is making it clear that he takes his cricket seriously. And to prove his point he will spend a good three hours at the Ferozeshah Kotla stadium on Sunday watching the India-Pakistan one-dayer, flanked by two men from India he had been most in touch with - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his predecessor Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Musharraf, who arrives in New Delhi Saturday evening after spending a couple of hours at Ajmer, where he would visit the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, will have External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh as his first visitor.
This will be followed by a meeting with Sonia Gandhi, chairperson of the ruling United Progressive Alliance, who would call on him at his suite at the Taj Mahal Hotel. After this he would have talks with Manmohan Singh. This would spill over into dinner.
On Sunday, Musharraf would watch the final one-dayer between India and Pakistan, the ostensible reason for his visit to India. He would be received at the stadium by Manmohan Singh and escorted to his seat in the special enclosure that has been reserved for members of the Pakistani and Indian delegations.
Originally, Musharraf was to spend only an hour watching cricket. But such is the general's passion for the game that he insisted that more time be taken out of his tight schedule for the match. He also insisted that some of his meetings could be arranged at the ground itself.
To accommodate that wish, Vajpayee would also travel to the stadium to meet his ''old friend'' - the man with whom he launched the peace dialogue in January 2004 that is paying such dividends in bilateral ties.
Following the match, Musharraf will be hosted a lunch by President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam at which Manmohan Singh will also be present.
In the afternoon Musharraf will meet Leader of Opposition L.K. Advani and perhaps renew an invitation to the man, considered a hawk in Pakistan, to visit the country where he was born.
Then he has a two-hour meeting with Hurriyat leaders from Jammu and Kashmir and will then attend a dinner hosted in his honour by Pakistani High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan at the Durban Hall of the Taj Mahal Hotel.
This dinner will also be attended by Manmohan Singh and leading members of his cabinet. This will be the third meeting of the two leaders in 48 hours.
Officials say that some of these formal occasions could well spill over into bilateral meetings depending on the mood and inclinations of the two leaders.
On Monday morning, Musharraf will meet members of the Editors Guild of India before emplaning for Manila for a visit to the Philippines.
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