India’s response to ‘ideas’ on Siachen awaited: FO
By Qudssia Akhalque
ISLAMABAD, Nov 27: Pakistan on Monday said it was waiting for India’s response to some suggestions that it had made for an agreement on the Siachen issue at the recent foreign secretary-level talks in New Delhi.“We have left some ideas with India and their response is now awaited,” Foreign Office spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly news briefing here.
She was responding to a question about the unchanged Indian stance that Pakistan should authenticate troop positions on the glacier.
She said the recent positive statements on President Pervez Musharraf’s proposals of demilitarisation and self-governance in Kashmir by pro-India Kashmiri leaders like Mehbooba Mufti and Omar Abdullah were a `good sign’.
She said that when the ideas were floated by the president they found resonance among Kashmiris across the board.
The spokesperson said that when Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri met Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee over lunch in New Delhi on Monday, they discussed Pakistan-India relations and the peace process.
She termed speculative reports that dates for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit to Pakistan were being worked out.
DIALOGUE WITH US: The spokesperson announced that the first session of the high-level dialogue on education with the United States would be held in Washington on Nov 29.
“The dialogue will provide an opportunity for both countries to hold discussions on a range of subjects relating to strengthening collaboration in the field of education at all levels and consider specific proposals for enhancing bilateral educational cooperation,” she said.
Pakistan’s delegation will be led by the Education Minister Javed Ashraf and include officials of the foreign affairs ministry and the Higher Education Commission and a representative from civil society.
