K Natwar Singh, the head of the Congress' foreign affairs cell and veritably its shadow foreign minister, today told The Indian Express that Vajpayee's bus journey was a piece with "ping pong diplomacy, shuttle diplomacy" and should not cloud the fundamentals of the relationship.

"Foreign policy is not (External Affairs Minister) Jaswant Singh's private enterprise," Singh said. Whether it was the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), China or Pakistan, the Centre needed the "support of the Opposition and the Congress in particular" to achieve a breakthrough in its post-Pokharan diplomacy.

"The fundamentals should be serious, it shouldn't be reduced to agimmick or a public relation exercise. If it is reduced to a photo-opportunity, with no substance, it will be forgotten," Singh warned.

The former career diplomat, who has also served in Pakistan, and later went on to become minister of state for foreign affairs, Singh made no bones about the fact that the Vajpayee government had destroyed the national consensus that had always existed in foreign policy.

Singh pointed out that the Congress would welcome any moves that would lower the temperature in the bilateral relationship. Both sides should talk to each other on the nuclear dialogue and move quickly towards serious economic integration. "When people have a stake then politics falls into place," he said.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani cricket team continued to be feted at the high tables of the Indian leadership. This evening, Wasim Akram and his boys were invited to tea with the Prime Minister at his residence. Yesterday, the Pakistani hockey team had visited there and invited Vajpayee to attend a match tobe played in Pakistan as part of the 9-game series.

From former prime minister Chandra Shekhar to J&K Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, appreciation for the PM's initiatives poured in from all over today.

Chandra Shekhar welcomed the new moves, saying "The need to leave the past behind and think of the future has been underscored many times. Sadly, we could not rise above our old prejudices. The initiative taken by Nawaz Sharif on Kashmir issue is a welcome development. For long India has said the issue is too sensitive to be resolved by any third party," he said in a statement.

If both sides move determinedly on the bilateral path, half of India's problems would be solved, he said. Both India and Pakistan would be able to concentrate fully on economic development. "Mutual distrust has led both these countries to spend huge amounts on defence which has been a boon to arm suppliers in the industrialised world. Essentially this has led to a waste of national resources," he added.

BJP vice-president K LSharma lauded the PM's initiatives, saying they were significant steps in normalising relations between the two countries.

Abdullah expressed optimism, saying the resumption of the Delhi-Lahore bus service was a welcome step in this direction. "We wish other roads also to open," he said, hoping that the next in line would be the Sialkot road in his State that led to the city across the border.

Asked if he would like to travel on the bus with Vajpayee, Abdullah quipped, "When the situation gets better, I would like to travel on my own bus."