NEW DELHI, 19 October 2007 — India and Pakistan resumed talks on confidence-building measures (CBMs) yesterday with a pledge to push forward the peace process.
Though little progress is expected during the two-day talks, Indian Foreign Ministry officials said continuation of the dialogue was itself “significant.”
Top officials of the South Asian neighbors discussed moves to boost trust on conventional security issues on the first day and are due to review nuclear security measures today.
A joint statement issued after the meeting said talks were “cordial and constructive.”
“Consultations continued with the aim of strengthening the ongoing process of confidence-building in the conventional field,” it said. “The two sides reiterated their commitment to uphold the cease-fire,” the statement added.
The nuclear-armed neighbors have observed a cease-fire since November 2003 along the Line of Control, the de facto frontier dividing the region of Kashmir, the trigger of two of their three wars since 1947.
The Indian Foreign Ministry said earlier the daylong meeting would focus on reducing tensions along maritime borders and the repatriation of people who inadvertently stray across land frontiers.
At present, fishermen, farmers or other people caught by Indian or Pakistani coast guards or border troops are usually suspected of being spies and can languish in prison in legal limbo even after serving sentences. The statement did not say if any progress was made on these or any other issues.
The talks will be followed today by discussions on nuclear safeguards, or ways of keeping their respective nuclear arsenal under control.
On Monday, Indian and Pakistani officials will revisit efforts to put in place a regular joint anti-terrorism mechanism designed to share intelligence on militant activity.
The latest round of talks came in the wake of renewed accusations from New Delhi that Islamabad continues to support terrorist attacks in India.
India’s National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan said Pakistan was also trying to revive Sikh militancy in the northern state of Punjab.
The allegation came after a weekend bomb attack in a Punjab cinema killed six people and injured 32.
“The atmosphere between the two sides has improved. There are delegations crossing the borders. More people-to-people contacts are in place with improved bus and train links,” a Foreign Ministry source told AFP.
“On Oct. 1, we started a truck service to improve trade. Also significant is that despite all the political issues in Pakistan today no party there has questioned the dialogue process,” he added.
Ahead of the talks, head of the Pakistani delegation Aizaz Ahmed Choudhry expressed optimism the two sides would be able to reach a number of agreements.
The dialogue between the two countries has reduced tensions, helped maintain a military truce, led to a fall in militant violence in Kashmir and boosted cultural, sporting and transport links.
But it has made slow progress toward resolving the central territorial dispute over Kashmir and failed to end a bitter confrontation over the Siachen glacier in Kashmir. “I don’t see any special significance to these talks because the crucial issues like Kashmir and Siachen are still unresolved,” said Ershad Mahmud of Islamabad’s Institute of Policy Studies, referring to the latest dialogue.
