Manmohan Singh sends wishes to Gen Musharraf

Islamabad, Nov 29: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has sent his best wishes to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf through Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri with the message that he was looking forward to his meeting with the military ruler.

The Dawn newspaper quoted Mr Kasuri as saying on return from his private visit to India that he had a brief interaction with Dr Singh at the wedding reception of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Panchayati Raj Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar's daughter on Monday.

Asked if Dr Singh indicated when he would be visiting Pakistan, Mr Kasuri said it was not the appropriate occasion to discuss the dates of his visit.

''Although it was my private visit (to New Delhi), it did help in smoothening things out ahead of the next round of talks,'' Mr Kasuri said when asked about his visit's likely bearing on the peace process.

Mr Kasuri said he also had a 20-minute one-on-one meeting with Foreign Minister Parnab Mukherjee on Monday, and termed the informal session ''a good beginning' as it came ahead of their formal talks here in January.

He said their discussions revolved around the need to resolve outstanding issues between the two countries.

UNI