ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: Pakistan has proposed to India that directors-general military operations (DGMOs) of the two countries meet here on the 26th of this month to discuss the Siachen glacier issue, it is learnt.

However, India has still not responded to the proposal made last month, foreign ministry sources told Dawn on Sunday.

Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had announced at a joint press conference after his talks with Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri in Islamabad on January 13 that the two sides agreed to direct officials concerned on both sides to meet at an early date to expedite the process of addressing the Siachen issue.

Mr Kasuri had disclosed at the same press conference that “a lot of work had already been done” on the Siachen issue and declared that given the political will it could be resolved within days. He even mentioned that Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan during the official talks in New Delhi in November 2006 had handed over a “detailed plan” in this regard to his Indian counterpart. Referring to the plan as a “package”, Mr Kasuri said it addressed concerns of both the sides.

Pakistan had suggested holding of DGMO-level talks on Siachen during the foreign ministers-level meeting last month and the Indian side was amenable to the idea. Later, Islamabad formally offered to host the meeting on February 26.

Notably, while Pakistan and India have held several rounds of talks on the Siachen issue at the defence secretary-level, the matter has never been taken up at the DGMO-level, officials here point out.

The last defence secretary-level meeting between the two countries on the Siachen issue was held in May 2006 in New Delhi but no headway was made.

Siachen glacier in disputed Kashmir is considered to be the world’s highest battlefield.