The Indian Prime Minister Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee adopted a rigid line of action and refused to accept the disputed nature of the Kashmir problem. He insisted that Kashmir was the integral part of India and did not come under the purview of the talks. Pervez Musharraf emphasized that Kashmir was the focal point of the negotiations and unless it was resolved the relations between the two neighbours would not be normalized.
The Prime Minister did not agree and the talks came to a standstill. The next round of talks began with a determination to evolve some ways and means to reach at a conclusion.