Zardari, PM meet over lunch; say talks were fruitful

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari, who arrived at the Palam Airport in New Delhi on Sunday on a day-long visit, said he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "talked on issues that matter".

Issuing a joint statement with Zardari Singh said, "Have lot of issues., willing to find pragmatic solutions."

Zardari has extended an invitation to Singh. "President Zardari has invited me to Pakistan. I would be very happy to visit Pakistan on a mutually convenient date."

The Pakistani President landed in India at around 12 noon with an entourage of over 40 people, including his son and Pakistan People's Party (PPP) president Bilawal and Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

He was received by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal. Zardari met Singh at latter's residence for a luncheon meeting and following this meeting he is slated to go to Ajmer Sharif.

UPA Chief Sonia Gandhi skipped the lunch, say sources.

As far as talks are concerned, 26/11 will be one of the issues but Lashkar-e-Toiba founder and 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks plotter Hafiz Saeed will not be the main focus.

However, the Pakistani President is reported to have discussed the issue of Hafiz Saeed with Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and Army Chief General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani before his visit to India.

Zardari had on Saturday said he did not expect the issue of Hafiz Saeed to be the focus of his meeting with Singh, amid growing pressure on Pakistan to prosecute the LeT founder for his role in the Mumbai attacks. "My stance on Saeed is not different from that of my government. My visit to India is of a religious nature and I do not think Manmohan Singh will make me sit (and discuss only) this issue," Zardari told reporters in a lighter vein at the Governor's House in Lahore.

Zardari, 56, was responding to questions on his meeting with Singh against the backdrop of a USD 10 million bounty offered by the US for information leading to Saeed's prosecution.

Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has already said in Parliament that the case of Saeed is an "internal issue" of Pakistan. Gilani further said that any evidence against Saeed should be provided to Pakistan so that it can be examined by the country's independent judiciary.