0
NEW DELHI, Aug 6: Defence secretaries of India and Pakistan wrapped up their two-day talks here on Friday with the resolve to pursue an agreement to their dispute over the Siachen glacier.
Official sources close to the talks told Dawn that military experts of both sides would now meet in Islamabad to narrow down their differences surrounding what has become the world's highest battlefield.
Frank and candid discussions were held in a cordial and constructive atmosphere aimed at taking the process forward. The two sides agreed to continue the discussions in order to resolve the issue in a peaceful manner.
Both sides assessed positively the ceasefire that has been in effect since Nov 25. An official statement said the defence secretary-level talks on Siachen, in the framework of the composite dialogue, were held in New Delhi on Aug 5-6, 2004.
The Indian delegation was led by Defence Secretary Ajai Vikram Singh and the Pakistan team was headed by Defence Secretary Hamid Nawaz Khan. Mr Nawaz Khan also called on Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and National Security Adviser Jyotindra Nath Dixit.
The military experts of the two sides also met to discuss modalities for disengagement and redeployment of troops, and agreed to have further discussions.
AFP ADDS: Officials attending the talks said the Pakistani side called for a pullback of troops to the level of the cease-fire reached after the 1971 war. The Indian army holds vantage points on the 72km long Siachen glacier, with Pakistani troops at lower positions, and does not want the demilitarization of the glacier to be linked to the dispute over Kashmir.
Mutual mistrust has so far blocked attempts to demilitarize the frigid wasteland. Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna, meanwhile, said the two sides launched separate talks in New Delhi on a maritime dispute which has festered for decades.
Tensions over Sir Creek spiralled in 1999 when Indian jets shot down a Pakistani patrol plane and Pakistan retaliated by firing missiles at Indian helicopters over the disputed territory - an area of water with access to the sea between India's Gujarat state and Sindh.
India also said that separate talks with Pakistan on the issue of cross-border terrorism and drug trafficking would be held in Islamabad on Aug 9. "(Home Secretary Dhirendra) Singh is expected to convey India's worries over cross-border terrorism and infiltration and also infrastructure facilities being given to terrorist groups in Pakistan," an interior ministry official said.
Mr Singh will leave for Pakistan on Aug 9 for the two-day talks. Controlling of drug trafficking from Afghanistan would also be taken up by the two sides.
