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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and India agreed on Wednesday on a road map leading to settlement of all outstanding disputes between the two countries and to move towards a durable peace in South Asia.

Foreign Secretary Riaz H Khokhar addressing a news briefing here at the conclusion of a three day meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of the two countries said it was agreed that they will meet again in May or June this year to discuss peace and security, Confidence Building Measures and Jammu and Kashmir.

Kashmir: Core Issue

Khokhar said, "Kashmir is the fundamental issue between Pakistan and India and the meeting of the Foreign Secretaries in May or June will address all aspects of the dispute."

The two sides agreed that the Foreign Secretaries would meet in May/June 2004 for talks on Peace and Security including CBMs; and Jammu and Kashmir.

Talks on Siachen; Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Navigation Project; Sir Creek; Terrorism and Drug Trafficking; Economic and Commercial Cooperation; and Promotion of Friendly Exchanges in Various Fields would be held at the already agreed levels, in July 2004.

It was also agreed that Director General Pakistan Rangers and Inspector General Border Security Force in March/April 2004 will hold technical level talks.

Nuclear CBMs

Expert level talks on Nuclear CBMs will be held in the latter half of May 2004, while the Committee on Drug trafficking and Smuggling would meet in June 2004.

Riaz Khokhar said both sides agreed that they would approach the composite dialogue with the "sincere desire to discuss and arrive at a peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, to the satisfaction of both sides."

They reiterated their commitment to promote progress towards the common objective of peace, security and economic development for their peoples and for future generations.

DGMOs Links

The two sides also reviewed the existing links between the Director General Military Operations of Pakistan and India and agreed to consider further strengthening these contacts.

Khokhar said the Foreign Minister of Pakistan and the External Affairs Minister of India would meet in August 2004 to review overall progress. This would be preceded by a one day meeting of the Foreign Secretaries, he said.

Meeting: 'Cordial and Good'

He said the meeting was "cordial and good" and was held in an constructive manner. He said the atmosphere of these talks was much better. He said there was a realisation on both the sides that war was not an option and there was no choice but to move ahead for resolution of all disputes.

Special Envoy for J & K

To a question he said no proposal for appointment of a special envoy for Jammu and Kashmir was discussed. He said "if the human rights violations stop ... it will improve atmosphere and help in composite dialogue."

When asked about the nuclear CBMs' Khokhar said "we did not go into the substance." He said the experts will hold discussions and will report to the foreign secretaries.

He said the meetings of the DG rangers and the IG of BSF were terminated in 1999 were just being revived. Similarly the committee on drug trafficking and smuggling that was functional till 1995 was also being revived.

CBMs

To a question about CBMs he said "we did not go into the specifics."

Khokhar was optimistic about the future round of talks and hoped it would ultimately lead to the resolution of all disputes in the direction of peace.

Perspective

The talks, held in two phases involved meetings between the Director General and Joint Secretaries of the two countries and in the second the Foreign secretaries of the two countries.

When asked about any agreement to a meeting between the top leadership of the two countries, Khokhar said "we stop at the meeting of the foreign ministers for the time being...if substantial progress is made the foreign ministers will recommend future course of action."

Kashmir Road Link

About the initiation of the Bus service between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar, Khokhar said a technical level meeting will be held between the two countries on March-9, where the modalities would be discussed.

Fencing of LoC

When asked whether the issue of fencing of the Line of Control came up for discussion, he said "it will be taken up when we eventually meet." The Indian side, he said says that the fencing is being done deep inside their territory, but "we say that it is not in accordance with the agreements and is certainly not a helpful thing."

When asked about the venue of the talks agreed upon between the two countries, he said it will be agreed upon through the usual diplomatic channels.

Composite Dialogue

He said the concept of the Composite Dialogue was framed in 1997. He said peace and security and Jammu and Kashmir dispute were identified as part of it.

Pakistan, India hold talks on Kashmir, other issues after Indian Polls

Pakistani and Indian Foreign Secretaries will hold another round of talks in May-June this year while Foreign Ministers of the two countries will meet in July-August for composite dialogue on resolution of all issues including Kashmir.

President General Pervez Musharraf announced this at a gathering of the Ulema and Mashaikh here Wednesday that the Foreign Secretaries of Pakistan and India will meet after the Indian general elections take place.

He said the dialogue process between the two countries is moving forward.

No Sell-out on Kashmir

President Musharraf strongly ruled out any sell-out on Kashmir.

"I shall be the last man to compromise on country's vital national interests," he told a gathering of religious scholars from around the country.

Talks, a New Beginning

Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan Wednesday termed just concluded talks between India and Pakistan to resolve all their disputes through composite dialogue as a new beginning.

In an interview with CNN, he said, the Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) announced by the two countries has created a conducive and enabling environment for talks.

He recalled that in 2002 there were conflicts and confrontation between two countries.

Political Will

However, Masood Khan said both countries still need political will to resolve their disputes through peaceful means.

President General Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the sideline of SAARC summit held in Islamabad had put their political will behind the recently held peace talks, he added.

The spokesman said both the leaders gave firm directions to their respective countries.

Optimism

To a question, he expressed the hope that recently concluded round of talks proved to be very productive.

He said in the agenda both the countries have agreed that all the issues will be discussed in the upcoming talks.

Kashmir, Key Issue

To a question, he said Kashmir is the key issue between Pakistan and India. "We have to resolve the Kashmir issue as it is the central dispute between the two countries", he added.

When asked that will Pakistan show flexibility on the issue of Kashmir, he said it is not a time of demonstrating flexibility.

However, he said flexibility on the issue of Kashmir should be reciprocal. He said presently Islamabad and New Delhi have realized that all the energy should be spent for development of the region.

Pakistan and India should look on the common grounds, so that they could resolve their all outstanding issues through peaceful means, he added.

Sinha Reax

India Wednesday said it was determined to sustain peace efforts with Pakistan, resolve all outstanding issues and normalise bilateral relations.

The foreign secretary level talks in Islamabad today were `fruitful' and held in cordial atmosphere, External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said while delivering a lecture on "India's Middle East Policy and Relations with neighbouring Countries" in Hyderabad.

"We have been going forward step by step ever since the Prime Minister unveiled the peace initiatives in April last year. There is no going back on our efforts aimed at resolving bilateral issues through negotiations," the Minister said.

India was committed to normalising the relations with Islamabad through sustained dialogue and peace initiatives, he added.

US Mediation

About reports regarding United States' mediation in the improvement of Indo-Pak relations, Yashwant Sinha said India was not under anybody's pressure but was following an independent foreign policy.

"America is our friend. The exchange of information between two friends cannot be construed as external pressure," the Minister said adding there was no need for a third party mediation.

Shashank calls on Kasuri

India's Foreign Secretary Shashank called on Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri here Wednesday evening. During the meeting, Foreign Minister Kasuri expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the foreign secretaries meeting and the schedule agreed in a joint statement.

The Minister also discussed with the Indian foreign secretary other matters of bilateral interest and the progress of follow up to the 12th SAARC Summit, held in Islamabad early this year.

The two sides expressed the hope that dialogue process would continue and address all outstanding issues between Pakistan and India including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir.