ISLAMABAD: The much-anticipated and long-delayed meeting — agreed to by the Pakistani and Indian prime ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly annual summit in September — will finally take place today when Lt Gen Vinod Bhatia will cross the Attari-Wagah land border for talks with his Pakistani counterpart Maj Gen Amir Riaz in Wagah.

The meeting will address the issue of terrorism that has been simmering along the Line of Control (LoC) after violence and clashes this summer.

The talks would start at Wagah border at 11am and are expected to continue for over two hours.

The directors’ general military operations (DGMOs) of both sides would be assisted by four of their officers at the talks.

The Pakistan government had proposed the inclusion of diplomats in the negotiating teams, but the Indian government vetoed the suggestion.

This would be the first meeting of the commanders of the two countries at the DGMOs level since the Kargil crisis.

The DGMOs have been conversing over the hotline, but this would be first face to face contact since the Kargil crisis.

Military sources said that the meeting would discuss the situation on the LoC and working boundary and explore ways for defusing tensions.

“The dialogue would take place in the context of the 2003 ceasefire accord and the existing mechanisms for addressing the violations. We’ll try to explore ways for strengthening the mechanisms to avoid hostilities along the LoC and WB in future,” an official said.

The Pakistan government last week invited the Indian DGMO after the Cabinet Committee on National Security instructed the ministries of foreign affairs and defence to “take measures to facilitate regional peace and stability”.

The LoC and working boundary witnessed intense skirmishes this year. The clashes had followed January attack on a Pakistani military post by Indian troops and the August ambush on an Indian border patrol by insurgents.