No structured Manmohan-Gilani meeting: Pakistan envoy

Seoul, March 25 (IANS) No structured meeting is planned between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan on the sidelines of the Nuclear Security Summit March 26-27, Pakistan's envoy to South Korea said Sunday.

"No structured meeting is planned, but a pull aside is always possible," Ambassador Shaukat Mukadam told reporters on the sidelines of the ceremonial reception accorded to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"There are possibilities....there are various places to meet, they could meet in readers' lounge," the envoy said when asked whether the Indian side had made any approach for a meeting.

He also said that Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani and US President Barack Obama would meet on the sidelines of the summit.

Mukadam also allayed Indian fears about the safety of Pakistan's nuclear assets.

"We are absolutely safe. We have the best command and control systems in place." he said.

At the Nuclear Security Summit, Manmohan Singh will join 57 world leaders, including Obama, to discuss the global threat posed by nuclear terrorism and the measures required to prevent terrorists from gaining access to sensitive nuclear material and technologies.

In his departure statement in New Delhi Friday, Manmohan Singh called for maintaining the highest levels of nuclear security and safety to retain public support for harnessing the benefits of atomic energy.