NEW DELHI, Dec 16: India hopes President Pervez Musharraf would sort out his domestic difficulties soon so that he could resume the bilateral peace process for which several issues look ready for a decision, India’s National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan has said.

“That’s what we are hoping. I think there are things, which are in the pipeline, or which are still cooking or half cooked or three quarter cooked which we would like to take forward,” Mr Narayanan said in an interview telecast on Sunday.

President Musharraf’s new avatar as civilian head of state had to be tested against the new political challenges he faces, Mr Naryanan said. “Would he be able to convince the other power structures that have come up in addition to him that this is best thing for Pakistan? That is a question mark. But we are hopeful that if by that time he has overcome all the obstacles, he would have a degree of credibility and acceptance which would make it easier for him to (pursue the dialogue).”

Mr Narayanan was asked about India’s likely equation with new Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Kayani and if he had caused problems for New Delhi as head of the ISI.

“There was possibly some kind of a tactical restraint imposed from the outside — possibly by President Musharraf or by whatever the establishment was then. But I think that applied only up to a certain point. In terms of the larger issues of mentoring Lashkar-i-Toiba and, to some extent, the Jaish-i-Mohammed etc, I don’t think there was any fundamental change in the attitude,” Mr Narayanan said.

“Quite often, there are elements in the system that do things which are not fully and totally known to you. But the point I am trying to make here is that General Kayani was certainly not the Hamid Gul, if that would answer the question for those of us who know Hamid Gul (who was) a great author of the belief – bleed India through a thousand cuts.”

Answering a separate question on Gen Kayani, India’s top security official said Pakistan’s new military leader was a professional solider. “If the questions is — will General Kayani indulge in an adventurist action against India — I think the answer would be no, because I think he is too professional a soldier to attempt it. I think it will be very foolish for anyone from any country today to try any adventurist action or hope that they catch India in what we will call a complacent mode at any moment.”

Mr Narayanan appeared to be sceptical about former prime minister Benazir Bhutto’s ability to end India’s problems with terrorism.