Modi visit sees hopes of reviving Pak ties
NEW DELHI: Dec 27, 2015, DHNS
The New Year is likely to see India and Pakistan make a fresh attempt to mend fences, with foreign secretaries of the two nations likely to meet in mid-January.
Modi’s visit to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s residence in Lahore on Friday to attend his granddaughter’s wedding brought about a sense of goodwill between the two nations and New Delhi is keen to build on it to move forward in its engagements with Islamabad. Foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan, S Jaishankar and Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry respectively, will meet in Islamabad on January 15 to hold parleys on modalities for dialogue between the two nations and schedule meetings of the top bureaucrats.
The foreign secretaries are expected to hold discussions on peace and security, confidence building measures and the issue of Jammu & Kashmir.
Officials told Deccan Herald that India’s home secretary and interior secretary of Pakistan would discuss issues related to counter-terrorism and narcotics control. Defence secretaries would hold talks on the dispute over the Siachen Glacier. Surveyor General of India and additional secretary in the Ministry of Defence of Pakistan would explore ways to narrow differences on Sir Creek. Water secretaries would hold talks on the dispute over Wullar Barrage and Tulbul Project. The commerce secretary of India and his Pakistan counterpart would hold parleys on economic and commercial cooperation.
On December 9, India and Pakistan agreed to restart the bilateral dialogue after a two-year hiatus.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart Sartaj Aziz announced in Islamabad that India and Pakistan would resume the parleys, which would now be called “Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue,” and will include talks on humanitarian issues, including religious tourism. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his counterpart Naseer Khan Janjua will also continue to hold talks on all issues related to terrorism. New Delhi is of the view that involvement of Janjua, a retired Lt General of Pakistan army, in the dialogue would ensure that the powerful military establishment of Pakistan would also remain onboard.
DH News Service
Modi’s visit to Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s residence in Lahore on Friday to attend his granddaughter’s wedding brought about a sense of goodwill between the two nations and New Delhi is keen to build on it to move forward in its engagements with Islamabad. Foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan, S Jaishankar and Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry respectively, will meet in Islamabad on January 15 to hold parleys on modalities for dialogue between the two nations and schedule meetings of the top bureaucrats.
The foreign secretaries are expected to hold discussions on peace and security, confidence building measures and the issue of Jammu & Kashmir.
Officials told Deccan Herald that India’s home secretary and interior secretary of Pakistan would discuss issues related to counter-terrorism and narcotics control. Defence secretaries would hold talks on the dispute over the Siachen Glacier. Surveyor General of India and additional secretary in the Ministry of Defence of Pakistan would explore ways to narrow differences on Sir Creek. Water secretaries would hold talks on the dispute over Wullar Barrage and Tulbul Project. The commerce secretary of India and his Pakistan counterpart would hold parleys on economic and commercial cooperation.
On December 9, India and Pakistan agreed to restart the bilateral dialogue after a two-year hiatus.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her counterpart Sartaj Aziz announced in Islamabad that India and Pakistan would resume the parleys, which would now be called “Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue,” and will include talks on humanitarian issues, including religious tourism. National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his counterpart Naseer Khan Janjua will also continue to hold talks on all issues related to terrorism. New Delhi is of the view that involvement of Janjua, a retired Lt General of Pakistan army, in the dialogue would ensure that the powerful military establishment of Pakistan would also remain onboard.
DH News Service
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