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| Kasuri's message to Pranab Mukherjee | | Pakistan for Siachen talks on Feb. 26 | | NEW DELHI | FEB 19
Even as the government of India has yet to convey its 'yes' to Pakistan, Islamabad has formally proposed to New Delhi that Directors-General Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two countries meet on Feb. 26 to discuss the Siachen glacier issue.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister, Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, is reported to have sent a message to his Indian counterpart, Pranab Mukherjee, urging the latter to lend support to the former on Pakistan's proposal favouring talks on the Siachen issue in Islamabad on Feb. 26 at the level of the DGMOs of the two countries.
Pranab Mukherjee had announced at a joint press conference after his talks with Foreign Minister, Khurshid Kasuri, in Islamabad on January 13 that the two sides agreed to direct officials concerned on both sides to meet at an early date to expedite the process of addressing the Siachen issue. Kasuri had disclosed at the same press conference that "a lot of work had already been done" on the Siachen issue and declared that given the political will it could be resolved within days.
Kasuri even mentioned that his Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan, during the official talks in New Delhi in November 2006 had handed over a "detailed plan" in this regard to his Indian counterpart. Referring to the plan as a "package", Kasuri had said that it addressed concerns of both the sides.
Pakistan had suggested holding of DGMO-level talks on Siachen during the Foreign Ministers-level meeting last month and the Indian side was amenable to the idea. Later, Islamabad formally offered to host the meeting on February 26. Notably, while Pakistan and India have held several rounds of talks on the Siachen issue at the Defence Secretary-level, the matter has never been taken up at the DGMO-level.
The last Defence Secretary-level meeting between the two countries on the Siachen issue was held in May 2006 in New Delhi but no headway was made. Siachen glacier in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir State is considered to be the world's highest battlefied. |
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