NEW DELHI, Jan 16: India and Pakistan will start a fresh round of their composite dialogue on Tuesday with a breakthrough expected on a mechanism to reduce their nuclear alert followed by an exchange of new ideas on ways to resolve the Kashmir dispute.
However, while Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan and India’s Shyam Saran would kick off the talks they appeared to have little progress to show on Kashmir since their last encounter.
And with the added handicap of India’s unusual comments on Pakistan’s military action in Balochistan, the feeling in the Pakistani camp bordered on the apprehensive.
Official sources said the security dialogue would be hinged to the Lahore Declaration of February 1999.
Both sides have more or less agreed on the missile test pre-notification and are now considering ways to ease up on their nuclear alert. Neither knew how prepared the other was to use the nuclear option, say in May 2002.
While Pakistani officials claimed on Monday that there was no nuclear threat during that military standoff, including from India, the idea is to rule out this guesswork with a concrete understanding of each other’s doctrines. The calibre of the guns/ weapons deployed on both sides of the Line of Control would be one of the subjects to be taken up for discussion under the conventional weapons security dialogue.
Mr Khan is expected to try to keep the focus mostly on Kashmir, peace and security, while his Indian counterpart would widen the emphasis on the issues of Siachen, Sir Creek, Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation project, terrorism and drug trafficking, promotion of friendly and cultural relations and economic and trade cooperation, issues that figure in talks any way.
“We will see where we stand and how to push the peace process forward. The meeting will discuss two main items, the Jammu and Kashmir problem and peace and security,” said Mr Khan before his departure for New Delhi.
APP adds: Talking to reporters on his arrival at the Indira Gandhi airport, the Pakistani foreign secretary expressed the hope that talks would be constructive.
Mr Khan was warmly received by Mr Saran, Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmad Khan and Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon.
“I am looking forward to these talks and we hope the talks will be constructive. We have to proceed with a certain touch of positive expectations,” the Pakistani foreign secretary added.
In reply to a question, he said: “We will be discussing all these issues. I do not want to prejudge the discussions, the content of discussions and also the outcome of the discussions at this stage.
“We are very happy to be in New Delhi,” he added.
India’s external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna, meanwhile, said that the two sides would see how to move ahead after reviewing the progress on various issues discussed so far.
