NEW DELHI, March 24: Back channel talks between India and Pakistan have all but hammered out a pact on troops withdrawal from the Siachen Glacier and the resolution of the Sir Creek maritime border dispute, the Indian Express said on Friday.

The newspaper said Islamabad is inclined “in principle” to acknowledge current Indian troop positions on the glacier. New Delhi, on its part, will need to be more flexible on the distance to which its troops will pull back.

“This significant indication, from the active back channel engagement on the issue, could now pave the way for a possible visit by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to Pakistan within the next few months,” the newspaper said.

When President Gen Pervez Musharraf visited India last April, both leaders had directed their officials to expeditiously find a mutually acceptable solution to Siachen and Sir Creek.

“Dr Singh has always pointed out that there must be something substantive on the agenda for him to visit Pakistan and an understanding on Siachen could be that major breakthrough,” the report said.

Alongside, it said, the two countries also hope to achieve a settlement of the Sir Creek issue where they have agreed on a joint survey of the entire creek. Defence Secretaries of the two countries are slated to hold talks on both these issues on May 23-26 in New Delhi.

“It’s learnt that the acknowledgement of troop positions in Siachen will be done in the withdrawal plan attached to the agreement document,” the Express said. India had been insisting on recording positions for authentication purposes. But the Express quoted unnamed sources as now saying that the withdrawal plan will list the positions from which the Indian troops will pull back and also where they will be stationed after that, amounting to automatic acknowledgement.

“This was the most controversial element of the settlement process envisaged twice earlier in 1989 and 1993,” the report said.

Once the acknowledgement of positions is agreed, the withdrawal plan will be formalised and Siachen will stand demilitarised, it added.

“On withdrawal of troops, however, the (Indian) Army feels Pakistan is at an advantage as the terrain on its side allows easier and faster access to the glacier than it would be from the Indian side. So, it argues that Indian troops should be deployed closer from the glacier than Pakistani troops to ensure that time taken to by either side is same.”