24 June 2004	Thursday	05 Jamadi-ul-Awwal 1425

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ISLAMABAD, June 23: The Foreign Office has described the two-day nuclear experts' talks, held in New Delhi last weekend, as "very positive".

The engagement represented the first step in pursuance of the dialogue, as agreed to at the summit level on January 6, 2004, which would be continued and upgraded at the scheduled next round between the foreign secretaries of the two countries on June 27-28.

A Foreign Office spokesman here on Wednesday briefed the press on the Delhi talks, and said that the objective of the planned composite dialogue between India and Pakistan was to resolve the issue of Jammu and Kashmir which was essential for a lasting and durable settlement for peace and security in South Asia.

The Jammu and Kashmir issue would be discussed at the next week's talks, Masood A. Khan, the FO spokesman, said. During the future engagements between the two sides on the nuclear CBMs, the nuclear experts would hold further exchanges on the draft nuclear CBMs to formalize an agreement on a draft missile treaty handed over in Delhi by the Indian team to its counterpart.

This would be further deliberated upon by the foreign secretaries and later by the foreign ministers when they meet in the coming weeks. Asked whether India and Pakistan discussed 'No first use' of nuclear weapons, Mr Khan said: "Of course the stand of Pakistan is very clearly stated. There is no ambiguity about that."

He recalled that in the past, the two sides had clearly stated their differing positions about a 'No aggression' or 'No war' pact. In Delhi, too, the issues were discussed during the CBM talks, he added.

Mr Masood Khan said: "These issues were discussed at the CBM talks but in a general sense. There was no specific purpose because we had to identify the CBMs which were durable and awaiting implementation, and the areas where we were cooperating had to be taken forward".

He told a questioner: "So the answer to the question is, these things were discussed but there was no definitive direction and there was no time-line as to when we can reconcile our differences on these issues. But the good thing is that both sides exchanged views on security concerns and their respective nuclear doctrines.

He added: "You must have seen the statement (from Delhi) where there is an element and there is a declaration by both the states that their nuclear capabilities, which are driven by their national security imperatives, are a factor of stability".

"So this is a very significant statement," he observed. The spokesman said that a reported statement of Indian foreign minister Natwar Singh, suggesting including China in the India-Pakistan CBM talks, was not on the table.

Mr Khan told a questioner that according to 9/11 commission's findings, Pakistan had no truck with Al Qaeda though it had relations with the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and the Mujahideen which were broken off after 9/11.

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