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| Pak PM's talks with Manmohan on April 4 | | Kashmir and Siachen to figure on the agenda | | BL KAK
NEW DELHI, MAR 28:
An official report has just poured in from Islamabad, divulging the preparations being made by the Pakistan Prime Minister, Shaukat Aziz, for his talks with his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, in New Delhi on April 4. The report describes the upcoming event as "restricted-level" talks.
Nonetheless, the report has let it be known that Kashmir and Siachen issues will figure high on the agenda. Talks between the two Prime Ministers will take place on the sidelines of the 14th SAARC summit conference in the Indian capital. Diplomatic sources confirm that the meeting between the two, scheduled for next Wednesday, will be "one plus four affair with key aides from both sides".
Indian Premier, Manmohan Singh, is expected to be assisted by his External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee, Foreign Secretary, Shiv Shankar Menon, Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan, and a senior official of the External Affairs Ministry. From the Pakistan side Foreign Minister, Khurshid Kasuri, Foreign Secretary, Riaz Mohammad Khan, High Commissioner to India, Shahid Malik, and Foreign Ministry’s point-man on India, Director-General (South Asia Division) Jalil Abbas Jilani, would be present at the meeting.
It is not clear yet whether the two Prime Ministers would also have a one-to-one session before or after the restricted-level talks. Although one hour has been slotted for the meeting, sources say it could go on beyond that.
Significantly, this will be the first top-level political contact between the two countries after the Sept 2006 Musharraf-Manmohan Singh meeting on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Cuba that marked the resumption of the peace process. Also, the first since the inaugural meeting of the joint anti-terrorism mechanism and launch of the fourth round of the composite dialogue this month.
The talks are expected to cover all aspects of bilateral relations with particular focus on key issues of Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, and trade matters. Significantly, the meeting between the two Prime Ministers will take place just two days before the crucial Defence Secretary-level talks on the Siachen glacier issue being hosted by Pakistan.
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