 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Peace Process Format On Agenda At India-Pakistan Talks
Islamabad (AFP) Sep 01, 2005 Senior officials from India and Pakistan will hold talks in Islamabad Thursday with a possible restructuring of the complex and slow-moving peace process between the nuclear rivals likely to be on the agenda. Indian foreign secretary Shyam Saran flew into the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore late Wednesday and will meet his counterpart Riaz Mohammed Khan throughout Thursday. "I am very happy to be here and look forward to having fulfilling discussions here," Saran told reporters after his arrival. He returns to New Delhi on Friday. The meeting between the top civil servants in their respective foreign ministries is meant to review the progress of the ongoing "composite dialogue" launched by India and Pakistan in January 2004. The peace process has so far produced a number of largely symbolic steps, including a historic bus service across the divided Himalayan territory of Kashmir and the resumption of sporting ties. The two countries also recently agreed to set up a hotline and other measures to stop an accidental nuclear exchange. But progress has been sluggish on central issues such as Kashmir itself. The restive region is divided between the two nations but claimed in full by both, and has sparked two of their three wars since independence in 1947. Other issues covered by the peace dialogue include a decades-long military standoff on a glacier high up in the mountains of Kashmir and boosting trade and cultural ties. Officials said privately that the two sides were also expected to discuss changing the format of the process, under which each individual topic is discussed by relevant ministries at different times. Instead India is likely to propose setting up ministerial commissions on each side to discuss all subjects at the same time and cut down on the number of meetings. India's Saran was quoted by the Press Trust of India as saying that the composite dialogue would continue "but perhaps in somewhat of a changed format." He did not elaborate, the news agency said. Pakistani officials have previously complained that India is slowing up the process, while India continues to blame Pakistan for supporting Islamic rebels who have waged a 16-year insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir. The officials may also set the agenda for a rare meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly conference on September 14. The last time the two leaders met -- to coincide with an India-Pakistan cricket match in New Delhi in April -- they jointly declared the peace process "irreversible". Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
World Powers Threaten Defiant Iran Over Nuclear Crisis
Vienna (AFP) Jan 11, 2006World powers threatened Iran with UN Security Council sanctions Wednesday after it resumed sensitive nuclear activities as a defiant Tehran vowed to press ahead with its disputed atomic programme. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
