Pakistan and India are set to resume dialogue today (Tuesday) when Indian Foreign Secretary Subramanyam Jaishankar arrives in Islamabad on a two-day visit.
At the top of the agenda for Pakistan in the talks will be matters relating to Jammu and Kashmir dispute, Siachen, water issues, confidence-building measures, people to people contacts and trade.
According to a Foreign Office official, Jaishankar’s visit to Islamabad is part of his trip to member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), but all the issues between the two countries are expected to come under discussion.
Besides holding formal talks with Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, Jaishankar is also expected to meet Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz, and Special Assistant to Prime Minister Tariq Fatemi.
He is likely to call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as well.
Media reports said that Islamabad is expected to propose a series of new confidence-building measures during the talks with Jaishankar (CBMs) in an effort to put the rollercoaster relationship back on track.
The new CBMs include a proposal to restore the 2003 ceasefire agreement between the two archrivals along their de facto and de jure borders where sporadic outbreak of hostilities have bedeviled their relations in recent months.
According to reports, a senior official said Pakistan was ready to restore the sanctity of the 2003 ceasefire agreement as it could not afford tensions along its eastern border and the Line of Control (LoC) at a time when its troops were fighting terrorism in the tribal areas.
The official said that Pakistan would offer an end to months-long hostilities along the LoC and working boundary. “The proposal is part of CBMs Pakistan intends to put forward during the foreign secretary-level talks in Islamabad,” said the official.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister’s Adviser on National Security and Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz hoped that the Indian foreign secretary’s visit would lower tensions between the two hostile neighbours.
Talking to reporters at the Shahid Barki Institute of Public Policy on Sunday, Aziz said it was a good sign that Pakistan and India have resumed dialogue and hoped it would help improve the situation. Aziz pointed out that it was India that had suspended dialogue with Pakistan in August last year. “And the process was revived after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi telephoned Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and invited him to resume talks from where they were suspended,” he added.
Aziz said all issues, including Kashmir dispute, would be discussed with India in the foreign secretary-level talks. “These negotiations will help to lower hostilities along the working boundary,” he added. “The prime ministers of India and Pakistan can also meet at some point after the resumption of talks.”
Referring to India’s defence budget which was jacked up by 8%, Aziz said Pakistan did not want to enter an arm race in the region. “However, it is important to keep balance in conventional weaponry. The Pakistan government has fulfilled defence needs despite difficulties and will keep doing so in the future,” he added.