ISLAMABAD, June 5: Pakistan, in a cautious response to the Indian proposal of joint monitoring of the Line of Control, has reiterated its willingness to discuss all such proposals as part of a comprehensive dialogue.
Responding to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s suggestion of joint patrolling of the Line of Control, a foreign office spokesman here on Wednesday observed that given the level of confidence between the two countries such a mechanism was unlikely to work.
However, he said if the proposal was in right earnest it should be formally conveyed to Pakistan.
“If India is serious in making such proposals, it should convey these formally to Pakistan,” he said.
The spokesman further said the proposal of joint patrolling was not new. “Similar proposals had previously been tabled with regard to the international boundary by India,” he said.
The Indian and Pakistani forces are monitoring and patrolling their respective sides of the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir, he added.
He pointed out that UNMOGIP already had a mandate to monitor the Line of Control. “It may be expanded to perform this role more effectively.”
Pakistan, he maintained, had already expressed its willingness to accept neutral monitoring of the LoC.
NISAR GUARDED: Pakistan gave a guarded response on Wednesday to Vajpayee’s offer of joint patrols of the LoC, saying it was an idea for discussion.
“This idea can be tabled during the dialogue,” Information Minister Nisar Memon told AFP.
“We will be happy to discuss with India all issues, including suggestions that they may have to reduce tensions and resolve disputes through meaningful dialogue.”
Vajpayee’s offer on Wednesday was seen as something of a breakthrough for the Kashmir deadlock which has brought India and Pakistan dangerously close to war in recent weeks.
Pakistan has repeatedly called for independent monitors in Kashmir to prove its claims that militants are not sneaking across the border to attack Indian interests.
But India has also refused talks until Pakistan eradicates “cross-border terrorism” in Kashmir.
Vajpayee told a news conference in the Kazakh capital Almaty that he was prepared to set up joint patrols along Kashmir’s de facto border.
