May 20, 2008	Tuesday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 14, 1429

NEW DELHI, May 19: India has proposed a flag meeting with Pakistani commanders amid reports that troops from across the Line of Control opened “unprovoked firing” on an Indian post, killing a solider in the Poonch sector of Jammu and Kashmir, reports said.

“We have called for a flag meeting of local commanders,” an army spokesman said in New Delhi.

The meeting is being called after reported firing from across the LoC that killed Naik Yashwant Singh of Gorkha Rifles on the Dhip post.

This is the second time India has called for flag meeting of commanders within a week to lodge a protest against alleged violation of the ceasefire agreement.

The firing incidents have come as the valley starts the run up to state polls due later this year.

Singh’s assurance

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Mohammad Shah and assured him that the forthcoming assembly elections would be free and impartial.

The assurance was given during a meeting at the prime minister’s residence in New Delhi, a statement issued by Mr Shah’s Awami National Conference (ANC) said here.

The ANC has not taken part in any elections since the out_break of militancy in the state in 1989.

Mr Shah also discussed holding of his proposed Intra-Kashmir Peace Conference in which he wants to invite leaders from both sides of the LoC in Jammu and Kashmir.

The two also discussed the plight of Kashmiri detenues implicated in false cases and lodged in jails in and outside the state and demanded their immediate release, according to an ANC statement.

Kashmir bus service

Meanwhile, India is likely to press for more cross-LoC bus services and early operationalisation of the truck service when the two sides resume the composite dialogue in Islamabad on Tuesday, reports said.

The Indian side is also expected to propose an increase in the frequency of the fortnightly Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot bus services, to make these weekly.

The foreign secretaries of the two countries will meet on Tuesday to set the agenda for talks between Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi on Wednesday, which will mark India’s first high-level contact with the new Pakistan government, Press Trust of India said.

It said the two sides would review the fourth round of Composite Dialogue and assess progress made on eight issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, terrorism, Siachen, Sir Creek and CBMs.

At the talks, the Indian side is expected to press for launch of Kargil-Skardu and Jammu-Sialkot bus services as part of additional initiatives to increase contacts between people on two sides of the LoC.