ISLAMABAD, May 28: Pakistan and India held first round of two-day talks on the Sir Creek issue in a cordial and friendly atmosphere in Rawalpindi on Saturday. Both sides deliberated upon the issue and understood each other’s point of view is how a statement issued by the defence ministry later summed up the talks that went on for about three-and-a-half hours.

The talks on the maritime dispute relate to the demarcation of the maritime boundary and the land boundary. While Pakistan maintains that the boundary should start with the Eastern Bank on the basis of the Resolution Map of 1914 and the green dotted line indicated in that map, India says it should run through the middle of Sir Creek.

Sources said the Indian side on Saturday asked the Pakistani officials to accept the land boundary delineation on the basis of the joint survey conducted in January. However, the Pakistani delegation pointed out that the technical aspects of the survey have yet to be analyzed.

Also, the Pakistani side emphasized that the issue of the maritime boundary and the land boundary demarcation in the Sir Creek area were interlinked and would need to be addressed in one package, it is learnt.

Rear Admiral Ahsanul Haq Chaudhri, additional secretary at the defence ministry, led the Pakistan team while the Indian delegation was headed by Maj-Gen Gopal Rao, surveyor-general of India. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmed Khan and India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan Shivshankar Menon also took part in the talks.

In January, the defence teams of the two countries had conducted a joint survey of the seven-mile Sir Creek area to identify the boundary pillars erected in the horizontal segment (blue dotted line) of the international boundary. The agreement on the joint survey was reached during Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri’s visit to India in September 2004.

Sir Creek is a strip of water between Sindh and the Rann of Kutch in India. The disputed coastal strip off Gujarat coast is said to be rich in oil and natural gas. Apart from the security and strategic implications and an economic angle, the dispute also has a human dimension. It is believed that the resolution of this dispute would bring relief to fishermen of both countries who inadvertently cross over to the other side and languish in jails for years.

The UN Convention on Law of the Sea to which both Pakistan and India are signatories requires that all maritime boundary disputes be resolved by 2009 failing which the United Nations would declare them as international waters. The UN Convention has also called upon the parties concerned to submit their claims by 2007 so that by 2009 these claims could be settled.

The Sir Creek dispute is one of the eight subjects being discussed under the composite dialogue process and is considered a relatively less complicated issue. Pakistan and India have had several rounds of talks at both technical and governmental levels since 1969 on the Sir Creek issue. The last round was held in August 2004.

Earlier, the Indian delegation called on Defence Secretary Lt-Gen Tariq Waseem Ghazi. Both sides discussed matters of mutual interest and underlined the need for settling all outstanding issues between the two countries.

The talks will conclude on Sunday after which a joint press statement will be issued, officials said.

AFP adds: India says that a redrawing of the boundaries in Sir Creek will mean a loss of 250sq-km of an economic zone for India. Islamabad rejects proposals for mid-channel demarcation, saying the waters are unfit for navigation.