NEW YORK : Apart from Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the 40-minute ‘Eternal Flame Ceremony’ was attended by Pakistan President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai. Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, who is not slated to address the 57th session of the United Nations General Assembly, was not present at the event. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramesinghe also did not attend. According to Sri Lanka’s Information Department, he left for New York on Sept. 13 to attend the General Assembly.

Vajpayee, who has some difficulty with his mobility since knee operations two years ago, was the last leader to come on stage and did not file past the ‘Eternal Flame’ like other leaders. Instead, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg walked up to him and handed him a candle as a memento. Other leaders, after filing past the flame, stopped briefly to speak with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan and U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

As he had missed meeting with Vajpayee, Powell walked up to the prime minister after the ceremony, shook his hand and exchanged a few words.