July 10, 2003	Thursday	Jumadi-ul-Awwal 9,1424

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KATHMANDU, July 9: Pakistan said it was open for informal talks with India at a Saarc diplomats’ conference that started here on Wednesday, but New Delhi said Islamabad had to end “cross-border terrorism” before talks could start.

The foreign secretaries from India and Pakistan are joining their regional counterparts for the two-day talks which could propose dates for a delayed summit of South Asian leaders to be hosted by Pakistan.

“Our position is very clear on this subject — our door is open and I am in town,” Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar told reporters when asked if he was willing to meet his Indian counterpart on the sidelines.

Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal said New Delhi was also open for talks but only under “appropriate conditions”.

“We expect that more concrete and credible steps can be taken on the issue of infiltration and the infrastructure of terrorism, and that will open the doors to a dialogue,” Mr Sibal told reporters on his arrival in Kathmandu.

“We have already laid out what the necessary steps that have to be taken,” he said. “So the onus is on the other side.”

NEPALESE PREMIER: The fourth special session of the Saarc standing committee was inaugurated by Nepal’s Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa.

The prime minister said there was an urgent need to conclude negotiations on a South Asia Free Trade Agreement treaty framework before the 12th summit.

“The 11th summit (held in Kathmandu in January 2002) had agreed to a long-term vision of a South Asian Economic Union to fulfil the shared aspirations of our peoples for a more prosperous South Asia,” he said.

“As a free trade area is a building block of this shared vision, I hope the foreign secretaries will be successful in injecting the required momentum in this area.”

Mr Thapa said poverty remained a formidable challenge in South Asia, adding the lack of a free trade agreement meant progress in the region was lagging behind.

Saarc secretary-general Q.A.M.A. Rahim said this week’s meeting demonstrated the firm resolve of the member states to steer the Saarc process forward.

The foreign secretaries are due to discuss the holding of the next Saarc summit, which was due in January but delayed indefinitely by host Pakistan after India did not confirm its attendance.

Foreign secretaries from Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were at the talks, while Indian foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal arrived later after a delay due to bad weather.

Officials were discussing whether the summit could be held in the first week of December.—Agencies