ISLAMABAD, 6 April 2007 — India and Pakistan will hold another round of talks in Rawalpindi today to resolve their disputes over the Siachen glacier and Sir Creek marshland, indicating keenness on both sides to put these issues behind them in their quest for better ties.
Indian Defense Secretary Shekhar Dutt, leading a nine-member delegation, arrived here yesterday evening to hold talks which are taking place within the framework of “composite dialogue.”
Pakistani side at the talks will be led by newly appointed Defense Secretary Kamran Rasool.
Dutt will hold two days of talks with his Pakistani counterpart over the demilitarization of the Siachen.
The talks are part of the fourth round of parleys launched last month by foreign secretaries of the two countries.
The talks on the Siachen glacier take place two days after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Shaukat Aziz discussed an entire range of bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek, on the sidelines of the 14th South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit in New Delhi.
Pakistan had recently shown willingness to concede an Indian demand for authentication of ground position of troops on the glacier as a prelude to withdrawal of troops, provided it is not seen as a validation of Indian claims.
According to a report in Daily Times, Pakistan has offered India a package deal to resolve the dispute over Siachen — the world’s highest battlefield that has claimed more soldiers due to freezing cold and frostbites than in combat.
“Pakistan has softened its stance from total opposition to authentication of troops and has offered India a package deal under which it agreed to the Indian demand but asked India for time bound withdrawal of its troops to the pre-conflict positions as quid-pro-quo,” Pakistani officials were quoted as saying by Daily Times.
“As par law authentication will legalize the Indian occupation of Siachen and Pakistan will not be able to challenge it if India withdraws from talks,” officials, as quoted by the daily, explained the reasoning behind this approach.
“Pakistan would also like India not to use authentication of troops for any sort of legal claims in future,” the Pakistan official said.
“As far as we are concerned, we have indirectly accepted the Indian pre-condition but we hope that India will not exploit it as a diplomatic victory,” he added, stressing that both sides needed to show flexibility to resolve this issue.
The resolution of dispute over Sir Creek appears to be in advanced stage with both sides having completed a joint survey of the marshland that separates Gujarat in India and Sindh in Pakistan.
