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| 19 February 2004 | Thursday | 27 Zilhaj 1424 |
Schedule set for Kashmir talks
ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: Foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan agreed here on Wednesday to hold talks on peace and security, confidence-building measures and Jammu and Kashmir in May-June this year.
This was stated by Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar in a joint statement issued by the foreign office. According to the statement, "Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar issued the joint statement soon after his meeting with Indian Foreign Secretary Shashank approved the modalities and timeframe on the agenda of the Indo-Pakistan composite dialogue, resumed at the behest of President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on Jan 6 on the sidelines of 12th Saarc summit."
Mr Shashank had arrived in Islamabad for a day-long visit and met Mr Khokhar, and they reviewed and approved the progress at the 3-day meeting of their junior colleagues that had started on Feb 16.
"The secretaries and officials on both sides agreed that they would approach the composite dialogue with the sincere desire to discuss and arrive at a peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, to the satisfaction of both sides.
They reiterated their commitment to promote progress towards the common objective of peace, security and economic development for future generations."
Mr Khokhar, who addressed a press conference after seeing off Mr Shashank at the foreign office, said in reply to a question: "The realization is that war is no option in the bilateral issues between the two countries". That, he added, was a considerable achievement for ensuring security.
According to the agreed schedule, the foreign secretaries will meet in May-June 2004 for talks on peace and security, including CBMs and Jammu and Kashmir. Talks on Siachen, Wullar Barrage/Tulbus navigation project, Sir Creek, terrorism and drug trafficking; economic and commercial cooperation and promotion in various fields would be held at the already agreed levels in July 2004.
The foreign minister of Pakistan, Mian Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, and the External Affairs Minister of India, Mr Yashwant Sinha, will meet in August 2004 to review overall progress in the talks stalled for about five years. This will be preceded by a one-day meeting of foreign secretaries. Technical-level meetings will also be held before the foreign ministers' meeting.
The joint statement gave the following schedule of the technical-level meetings: meeting between director-general Pakistan Rangers and inspector-general Border Security Force in March-April, expert-level talks on nuclear CBMs in the later half of May 2004 and a meeting of the committee on drug trafficking and smuggling in June 2004.
The two sides also reviewed the existing links between directors-general military operation of Pakistan and India, and agreed to further strengthen these contacts.
Agencies add: "We do have before us now a sort of a basic roadmap for a Pakistan-India peace process to which we have both agreed," said Mr Khokhar.
"We hope that this roadmap will eventually lead to settlement of all outstanding disputes between India and Pakistan, and in the direction of durable peace."
He said no proposal for appointment of a special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir was discussed. "If human rights violations stop ... it will improve atmosphere and help in composite dialogue," he said.
Asked about nuclear CBMs, Mr Khokhar said they did not go into the substance and added that experts would hold discussions and report to foreign secretaries.
Answering a question about any agreement to a meeting between the top leadership of the two countries, he said: "We stopped at the meeting of the foreign ministers for the time being...if substantial progress is made the foreign ministers will recommend future course of action."
About the start of a bus service between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar, Mr Khokhar said a technical-level meeting would be held between the two countries on March 9, where modalities would be discussed.
Asked whether the fencing of the LoC had come up for discussion, he said: "It will be taken up when we eventually meet." The Indian side, he pointed out, said the fencing was being done deep inside their territory, but "we say that it is not in accordance with the agreements and is certainly not a helpful thing."
Mr Khokhar said the venue of the scheduled talks would be agreed upon through diplomatic channels.
MUSHARRAF: Speaking at a convention of Ulema in Islamabad, President Musharraf said Kashmiri leaders could also become involved in talks at some point.
"The process we started is moving forward smoothly towards a solution. It should be acceptable to India, Pakistan and the Kashmiris. If a solution is not found according to the wishes of the Kashmiris, then a solution will not be found," said Gen Musharraf. Talking to AFP, foreign office spokesman Masood Khan said the Kashmir issue was not intractable.
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