New Delhi : India has declined Pakistan’s request to advance the talks between their defence officials to the end of this month saying that dialogues would be held in the order that was agreed between the two countries at Thimphu, Indian Express newspaper reported on Tuesday.
“Talks between the Defence Secretaries of both nations will be held end-May only after the talks on trade and water resources,” said a Indian government official. “Though there was a request from Pakistan to advance the talks, India has pointed out that the schedule agreed upon at Thimphu cannot be changed,” he said.
The newspaper quoting sources said the request for advancing the defence talks was made during an informal meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilanion the fringes of Cricket World Cup semi-final between both nations at Chandigarh last month. Talks onconfidence-building measures and culture would follow the defence talks, said the official.
Pakistan has asked for de-militarizsation of the world’s highest battlefield Siachen glacier and Sir Creek where both sides have maintained a ceasefire since November 2003. India has been pressing for “delineation” of the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line (AGPL) beyond the NJ-9842 reference point, where the Line of Control simply stopped in the 1972 Shimla Pact, up to the Karakoram Pass.
And this time, it would be pressing harder for its authentication since the 6,300 metre glacier has shifted 15km into the neighbour’s territory, Indian Express stated. Both countries keep troops deployed across Siachen glacier where the weather claims more lives than fighting. Sir Creek dispute lies in the interpretation of the maritime boundary line between Kutch in India & Sindh in Pakistan. PPI
