NEW DELHI, Aug 11: There was cautious speculation here on Monday that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee could meet President Pervez Musharraf in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting next month.

Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha, emerging from a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security headed by Mr Vajpayee, told reporters that relations with Pakistan had been discussed at the apex body, but gave no details.

Pakistani officials, reacting to Mr Sinha’s remarks over the CCS meet said there was nothing in the comments to suggest any summit-level meeting in New York, but the idea was not far-fetched at all.

“Much would depend on the way the ties move forward at the official-level dialogue which is yet to formally begin,” a Pakistani diplomat told Dawn.

Pakistani officials took heart from Monday’s comments by Indian High Commissioner Shiv Shankar Menon who told an Indian TV channel in Islamabad that the atmosphere was now right for talks between the two countries to begin.

While Mr Sinha described the CCS deliberations as “a routine meeting”, at which “Pakistan was discussed but I cannot reveal more”, Mr Menon, speaking to NDTV news channel earlier, said: “I think certainly there has been a great advance in the last four months, since PM extended a hand of friendship towards Pakistan.”

He said a parliamentarian’s jamboree in Islamabad had gone off well.

“I think, you see that in today’s meeting. You can see it when you talk to people. There has been a series of steps that will take process forward,” Mr Menon said. “It is our hope that we will have an atmosphere where it is possible for us to build a constructive relationship with Pakistan.”

He said: “It is more than just an official dialogue...I think we have a dialogue today between India and Pakistan because of relationship between two countries. Not only officials are involved. Members of parliament, media. This is a relationship between two societies, two nations, two countries”.

The officials were already in touch with each other. “We now have High Commissioners in place in both the countries. We have the channels. We have the means in place,” Mr Menon said.

Officials said technical-level talks on the issue of resumption of civil aviation links will be held in Islamabad later this month. India is considering Pakistan’s proposal for re-starting rail links between the two countries.