Talks with India on peace process today: Progress on Siachen to be sought
By Qudssia Akhlaque
ISLAMABAD, Aug 31: The foreign secretaries of Pakistan and India will meet here on Thursday to review the second round of composite dialogue and work out a roadmap to ensure that the ongoing peace process remains on track.
The two officials last met in Islamabad on Dec 27, 2004 to kick-off the second round of the dialogue process that had started in January that year.
The meeting takes place two weeks before President Gen Pervez Musharraf’s talks with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Also, it comes on the heels of Indian premier’s awaited invitation to the Hurriyat leaders for talks in Delhi on Sept 5.
Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan is likely to have a one-to-one session with his Indian counterpart Shyam Saran on Thursday morning before they go into delegation-level talks.
Mr Saran, who arrived here on Wednesday night, is accompanied by external affairs ministry’s joint secretary and deputy director Pakistan desk. Indian High Commissioner in Islamabad Shiv Shankar Menon will join Mr Saran at the talks.
The Pakistani delegation comprises senior foreign ministry officials, including additional secretary (Asia Pacific) Ashraf Qureshi, additional secretary UN Tariq Osman Hyder and director-general South Asia division Syed Ibne Abbas. Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmed Khan, who arrived here on Wednesday night, will also be part of the delegation.
In the evening, the Indian foreign secretary will call on Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. He is also scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri on Friday. A call on President Musharraf is also expected the same day before he leaves for India.
The two sides will discuss the progress on the eight-point agenda of the composite dialogue aimed at confidence building, normalization and dispute resolution.
The points are Siachen; Tulbul navigation project/Wullar barrage; Sir Creek; economic and commercial cooperation and friendly exchanges; terrorism and drug trafficking; peace, security and Jammu and Kashmir.
At the talks, Pakistan will push for a forward movement on ‘doable and achievable’ issues such as Siachen and Sir Creek, sources told Dawn.
“We think Siachen is a good starting point,” was how a foreign ministry official put it.
In Pakistani official circles the dialogue process is seen as sluggish and there is disappointment that it has yielded no tangible progress on substantive issues.
According to diplomatic sources, Pakistan will also raise the issue of re-opening its consulate in Mumbai. In the April 18 joint statement, the two countries had agreed to reopen before the end of this year their consulates in Mumbai and Karachi that were closed down in 1994.
However, Delhi has not yet allotted premises to Pakistan for the consulate. Also, India has been dragging its feet on Pakistan’s long-standing demand for the Jinnah House in Mumbai, the one time residence of the Quaid-i-Azam. Sources said Pakistan would reiterate its demand for the Jinnah House, reminding the Indian side of the commitment made by several Indian leaders, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, to gift or lease the property to the Pakistan government.
During his visit to New Delhi in April, President Musharraf had raised the issue with the Indian prime minister and conveyed to him Pakistan’s wish to convert part of the Jinnah House into a museum and use the rest as the residence of its consul-general in Mumbai.
Later, the president informed the accompanying Pakistani media that he had received a positive response from Prime Minister Singh on the matter. He was told by the latter that his government would ‘seriously consider’ the request.
Other issues that are likely to figure at the talks on Thursday are the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project and the 1983 Joint Commission. The Pakistan-India joint working group on the gas pipeline project is scheduled to meet in Islamabad on Sept 8-9.
Pakistan will also emphasize the need for inclusion of the Kashmiris in the dialogue process and reduction of Indian troops in occupied Kashmir, officials said.
According to reports from New Delhi, the Indian side may again raise the issue of transit facility for Indian goods to Afghanistan, Gulf and Central Asia via Pakistan as well as the issue of prisoners.
When this correspondent asked a senior Pakistani diplomat if a breakthrough was expected, he said: “We may agree on some forward-looking roadmap for the third round of the dialogue process, adding that it was a vital link to the ongoing peace process.”
While there are signals from the Indian side for changing the format of the composite dialogue process, Pakistan does not seem keen on it. “We think it is a stand-alone arrangement and should be treated as such. However, we can always have additional mechanisms,” a senior official said.
The talks will be followed by a meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in Islamabad on Oct 4. Hence, the foreign secretaries will also be discussing the agenda for that meeting.
