Hopes fade for India-Pakistan summit talks

Close, but no talks officials say

KATHMANDU, Nepal (CNN) -- The South Asian summit in Nepal is set to close Sunday with hopes fading of any substantial face-to-face talks between India and Pakistan aimed at resolving weeks of rising tensions.

The crisis between the region's two nuclear powers has overshadowed the meeting in the Kathmandu of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and diplomats have been pushing hard for the two sides to use the occasion to talk down their row.

On Saturday hopes were raised when the Pakistani President, General Pervez Musharraf took the podium to deliver his opening speech to the summit.

Pakistan, he said, was willing to rid his country of terrorism and ready for "serious and sustained dialogue" with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Offering to "to extend a hand of genuine, sincere friendship to Prime Minister Vajpayee" he said: "Let us together commence a journey of peace, harmony and progress in South Asia."

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Then came a dramatic gesture as, to a chorus of applause from summit delegates, he strode over to the Indian leader and shook his hand.

Call for action

Vajpayee's response was cautious, but cordial -- smiling as he shook the Pakistani president's hand.

When it was his turn to speak, however, he said India needed more than a handshake -- it wants action.

"I am glad that President Musharraf extended a hand of friendship to me," Vajpayee said at the end of his speech.

"I have shaken his hand in your presence. Now, President Musharraf must follow this gesture by not permitting any activity in Pakistan or any territory in its control today which enables terrorists to perpetrate mindless violence in India."

Tensions between the South Asian nuclear rivals rose dramatically in the wake of the December 13 suicide attack on the Indian parliament which New Delhi blames on Pakistan-based militants.

India accuses Pakistan of supporting terrorist activity in the disputed Muslim-majority region of Kashmir and elsewhere on Indian territory.

For its part, Pakistan says the only support it now gives is political and moral, and only to what it calls home grown freedom fighters in Kashmir.

"We must make a distinction between acts of legitimate resistance and freedom struggles on the one side and acts of terror on the other," Musharraf said in his speech to SAARC delegates Saturday.

Disappointment

It's a sticking point for any future talks between the two leaders -- one country's freedom fighter being another country's terrorist.

Indian and Pakistani forces are engaged in a tense stand-off along their common border

Pakistani officials have expressed disappointment at India's rejection of talks, feeling they have done much in recent days to clamp down on terrorist groups in their country.

In the run up to the summit police in Pakistan said they had detained several hundred militants, although the authorities in Islamabad insist the action was taken based on internal security considerations rather than in response to Indian pressure.

For the past two weeks tens of thousands of Indian and Pakistani troops have been facing each other along their border

Almost nightly exchanges of fire have taken the lives of soldiers on both sides.

Fearing that even the smallest clash could spark a dangerous escalation the Kathmandu summit was seen by diplomats as a chance for the two sides to speak on the sidelines and attempt to soothe tensions.

Disputed meeting

Diplomats worry that even a minor exchange of fire could spark a dangerous escalation

Adding to the drama are confused reports on whether or not the Pakistani and Indian Foreign Ministers met privately Saturday evening. Pakistani officials say the one-on-one meeting did take place.

However, after initially offering a similar version of events Indian officials said the meeting took place as part of a general gathering of all foreign ministers from all seven SAARC member nations.

Indian officials have also denied any knowledge of a United States plan to perhaps send an envoy to ease tensions between the two countries.

Pakistan says it accepts the idea, but Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said he was not, in his words, thrilled by the prospect

"The U.S. has missions in New Delhi and Islamabad," he said, "and unless they are not up to the task I don't see where the need is for a special envoy."

With Pakistan making it clear that talks are the best way forward, many analysts feel the ball is now in India's court.

However, the Indian prime minister has a public and elements of his own government demanding continued tough talk.

His ruling party also has an important state election next month and observers say compromise with Pakistan likely won't help him at the polls.

-- CNN Correspondent Michael Holmes in Kathmandu contributed to this report