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| Better late than never | | Indo-Pak Foreign Secretaries to meet next month | | B L KAK
NEW DELHI, OCT. 14: Preparations have begun in connection with the much-awaited meeting between Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan. India's Foreign Secretary, Shiv Shankar Menon, and his Pakistani counterpart have agreed to hold a two-day meting in the second week of November.
The meeting will take place in New Delhi, diplomatic sources told EARLY TIMES. These sources said that dates would be announced shortly but indicated that the meeting would start around Nov 10. Shiv Shankar Menon, who served in Islamabad as India's High Commissioner to Pakistan, took over as the new Foreign Secretary in place of Shyam Saran this October 1.
The Pakistan government last month announced the appointment of Shahid Malik as the country’s new High Commissioner to India. However, it would be the outgoing High Commissioner, Aziz Ahmed Khan, who would attend the crucial meeting.
The meeting will mark the resumption of the composite dialogue process that was stalled after July 11 Mumbai blasts for which India blamed Pakistan. Although Pakistan rejected the charge, India postponed the scheduled meeting of Foreign Secretaries.
The breakthrough came at a meeting between Pakistan President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, and Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, in Havana last month where they signalled to their Foreign Secretaries to resume dialogue at the earliest possible. The two leaders also directed the Foreign Secretaries to arrange consultations for an early solution of the Siachen issue and to ensure that the joint survey of Sir Creek and adjoining area commences in November.
The upcoming meeting acquires special significance as India is expected to put on the table evidence of Pakistan’s purported involvement in the Mumbai blasts. Also, it would give a clear idea of the status of the joint anti-terror institutional mechanism that Gen Musharraf and Manmohan Singh decided to put in place at Havana. During the two-day talks the Foreign Secretaries will discuss the issue of Jammu and Kashmir and all aspects of peace and security. They will also review the entire gamut of the third round of the composite dialogue besides setting a roadmap for future engagement.
The composite dialogue that started in February 2004 is aimed at confidence-building, normalisation and dispute resolution. The eight items included in the composite dialogue framework are Siachen; Tulbul navigation project / Wullar Barrage; Sir Creek; economic and commercial cooperation and friendly exchanges; terrorism and drug trafficking; peace and security and Jammu and Kashmir.
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