NEW DELHI, May 22: Pakistan on Monday said it was open to discussing with India troop pullout from Siachen. “We have come here with an open, positive frame of mind,” Pakistan’s defence secretary Tariq Waseem Ghazi told reporters on his arrival in New Delhi for two days of talks with his Indian counterpart Shekhar Dutt set to begin on Tuesday.

“We are ready to discuss all possibilities... we are open to all proposals,” Mr Ghazi said.

India has proposed both sides note down the positions they hold before the troops are withdrawn. According to New Delhi, Islamabad’s hesitation to plot troop positions is stalling an agreement to pull troops from the 6,300-metre Siachen glacier.

But Ghazi said he and his delegation were “hopeful of an outcome,” during the next two days.

Mr Dutt, who received the Pakistani delegation at the airport said: “The talks would be held in a friendly environment.”

Last week, defence minister Pranab Mukherjee ruled out “any withdrawal of troops from Siachen so long as talks going on with Pakistan on the issue do not yield any results.”—AFP