Islamabad: Pakistan on October 6 said it has not fixed any deadline for Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to accept the invitation to take part in the SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co- operation) Summit scheduled to be held in January next but at the same time hoped that the confirmation would come in time to make preparations for the summit.

Asked whether Pakistan had fixed any time limit for India to confirm Vajpayee's participation in the summit, Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan said there was no need for any deadline but at the same time recited a Urdu couplet saying the guests inform the hosts in time to make preparations to receive them.

About Pakistan making modernising of Indian armed forces a recurring theme at international fora, he said, "What we are saying is that the conventional forces' imbalance should be redressed. Arm Pakistan proportionately," he said.

PTI