NEW DELHI, May 24: India and Pakistan ended a 10th round of defence secretary-level talks over the Siachen glacier inconclusively on Wednesday amid hints that a political nudge was now needed to stitch up an agreement. They decided, however, to strengthen a 19-month-old ceasefire holding in the hostile snow clad battlefield.

(According to Reuters, Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, speaking shortly before a joint statement was issued, said the main obstacle was mapping bases and the frontline in the hostile region. “Perhaps there can be forward movement in another round of discussions,” he told reporters. “In this round of discussions, we could not make any breakthrough.”)

The joint statement at the end of two days said they “held frank and constructive discussions in a cordial atmosphere. They welcomed the successful continuation of the ceasefire since November 2003 and reaffirmed their desire to make it enduring.”

Lt Gen (retd) Tariq Waseem Ghazi, who led the Pakistan side and Indian Defence Secretary Shekhar Dutt, agreed to continue the discussions to resolve the Siachen issue in a peaceful manner, the statement said. Dates for the 11th round of talks are to be worked out.

Gen Ghazi later told reporters that he was neither disappointed with the outcome of the discussions nor had the Siachen talks failed. He said the atmosphere during the talks was positive and there was a keen desire on both sides to move forward on the peace process.

The Pakistani side had recalled the agreement reached in the 5th round of Siachen talks in 1989 when the principles of the proposed troop withdrawal had been all but agreed.

Gen Ghazi did not see any extraneous factors, like Pakistan’s reservations over India’s excessive diplomatic presence in southern Afghanistan, as a new element that could cast a cloud on their other discussions, including Siachen.

“That is not my sense at all. My feeling is that Indians genuinely believe that there is a great need to authenticate the AGPL (Actual Ground Position Line),” he said. “Pakistan’s view is that pre-conditions are not allowed in the discussions.”

Pakistan’s approach to the talks leans on the Shimla Agreement. “We hold India guilty of violating the agreement by its incursions in Siachen in 1984.”

“It is not in our mandate to draw any new lines. That would be a political decision, which should be dealt with by the two governments, politically,” Gen Ghazi said. He said there was more hope of palpable progress on the talks on the Sir Creek issues, starting on Thursday.