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| Friday, 20 February 2004 |
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Indo-Pak dialogue timetable 'a breakthrough' ISLAMABAD, Thursday (AFP) An agreement between Pakistan and India on a timetable for dialogue was hailed as a breakthrough by analysts here who said it showed the nuclear rivals were serious about resolving their disputes. The South Asia neighbours announced the dialogue, including key talks on the disputed region of Kashmir, at the end of a three-day meeting between their foreign secretaries. It was the first time the two countries had come out with a clear schedule for talks and a commitment to resolving outstanding disputes, analysts said. "It's a breakthrough agreement," analyst Riffat Hussain said. According to the schedule, the secretaries are to meet again in May or June for talks on Kashmir, followed by talks in July on seven other issues, including terrorism and the Siachen glacier, another disputed area. Technical-level meetings on border security, nuclear issues and drugs trafficking were also agreed on, as were meetings in August between the foreign secretaries and foreign ministers of both sides to review overall progress. "Now there is a specific timeframe and there is a clear effort to have an early closure of the negotiations on some of the key issues," said Hussain, head of Quaid-e-Azam University's strategic studies department in Islamabad. "There is sufficient basis for optimism because both sides will be pursuing the negotiations in a structured and organised manner," Hussain said. |
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