The letter from Vajpayee to Sharif, written around August 12-13, was really in response to a note of condolence from the latter to the former, commiserating with Vajpayee on the train tragedy at Gaisal.

But Vajpayee's return missive went beyond the appreciation of a fellow PM's gesture in times of trouble. Highly placed sources in the Government said he wanted to convey to Sharif not only an anguished sense of waste, in terms of lives and time, that had befallen the relationship, but also that there was a need to look beyond this new low.

Vajpayee's note is only a few paragraphs long. But at a time when the election campaign is moving into high pitch -- and Kargil is a major motif in the campaign-- the fact of writing such a letter itself is said to indicate the direction both nations should take after the heat of the elections gives way to government.

``The subtle message in the PM's letter is, ``What have you done? Just when things were going so well, both our peoples had welcomed so wholeheartedly the developments at Lahore, why did Kargil have to happen,'' the sources said, paraphrasing the letter.

When we met in Lahore, Vajpayee is said to have told Sharif, it seemed as if we were putting the bitterness of both our countries behind us. We were developing a working relationship, establishing mutual trust and confidence, our people had welcomed these developments, Vajpayee added.

The word `Kargil', unlike `Lahore,' is not believed to have been mentioned in the letter, but the reference to the worst bilateral conflict in recent times is unmistakable.

What happened at the LoC, then, was not right, it has immeasurably put the clock back on the relationship. The vision of a cooperative futurethat ``we,'' the two Prime Ministers, were beginning to build upon has now been retarded, the sources quoted Vajpayee.

The election, the sources pointed out, had made complex the relationship with Pakistan in more ways than one. But even as Vajpayee directly or indirectly uses the ``friendship at Lahore'' and ``betrayal at Kargil'' as recurring themes in his election speeches, he is said to believe in the fact that both countries really have no option but to learn to live as good neighbours again, the sources added.

On the other hand, the sense of betrayal at the hands of Pakistan, runs strongly through the Government. A meeting between External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh and his counterpart Sartaj Aziz on the margins of the UN General Assembly in mid-September could happen, the sources said, but no proposal has been received by New Delhi yet. One thing seems almost certain: New Delhi is certainly not about to ask for such a meeting, although the awareness exists that doing so would win the Governmentdiplomatic points abroad. It will wait for Pakistan to make the first move.