Second Round of India-Pakistan Composite Dialogue - 2004: A Status Report

08 Feb, 2005    ·   1632

N Manoharan provides an overview of the second round of the Composite Dialogue between India and Pakistan

N Manoharan
N Manoharan

According to the agreement reached between the Foreign Ministers of India and Pakistan in September 2004 following the first round of talks on the Composite Dialogue, the second round was held in December 2004. New Delhi , Rawalpindi and Islamabad were the venues for these talks. It culminated in the meeting between the Foreign Secretaries of both the countries on 27-28 December 2004, who reviewed the progress of the talks (unlike the first round which was reviewed by the Foreign Ministers). There was some progress on nuclear CBMs, drug-trafficking, and resumption of the rail link between Khokrapar and Munnabao. But, not much progress could be made on conventional CBMs and the bus link between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad. Nevertheless, both countries agreed to take the Composite Dialogue on to the third round during the first half of 2005.

The chart below provides an overview of the dialogue process and its review by the two Foreign Secretaries. Meetings between the Foreign Ministers and Prime Ministers of both countries are scheduled to be held on the sidelines of SAARC Summit in early February 2005.

 

Date
Venue
Agenda
Level of Interaction
Outcome

2-3 December 2004

Islamabad

Modalities for resumption of rail-link between Khokhrapar and Munnabao suspended since 1965.

India : Lajpat Rai Thapar, Additional Member (Traffic), Railway Board, Ministry of Railways

Pakistan : Zaeem Ahmad Chaudhry, Secretary, Railway Board, Ministry of Railways

Agreed to early resumption of the rail link.

To take necessary steps including laying of railway tracks and other related infrastructure to operationalise the rail link.

To meet again for discussions on the issue in Mumbai on a mutually agreed date.

7-8 December 2004

New Delhi

Issues related to commencement of the bus service between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad

India : Alok Rawat, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways

Pakistan : Jalil Abbas Jilani, Director General ( South Asia ), Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Reiterated their commitment towards early establishment of the bus service.

Agreed to continue the discussions.

13-14 December 2004

New Delhi

Bilateral cooperation in drug-related matters

India : Swaraj Puri, Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau

Pakistan : Maj Gen Nadeem Ahmed, Director General, Anti-Narcotics Force

Exchanged a draft MoU on drug-related matters (greater cooperation among enforcement agencies as well as sharing of operational intelligence to curb illegal drugs trade) in pursuant to a decision taken at the Home Secretaries level meeting in August 2004.

14-15 December 2004

Islamabad

Nuclear Confidence Building Measures

India : Ms. Meera Shankar, Additional Secretary (UN), Ministry of External Affairs

Pakistan : Tariq Osman Hyder, Additional Secretary (UN&EC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Reiterated their desire to keep working towards elaboration and implementation of nuclear CBMs.

Agreed to future periodical expert-level talks that would discuss, review and monitor the implementation of nuclear CBMs as envisaged by the Lahore MoU (1999).

Explored the upgradation of the existing hotline between the DGMOs and the establishment of a dedicated and secure hotline between the Foreign Secretaries.

14-15 December 2004

Rawalpindi

Discuss modalities for carrying out joint survey of the Boundary Pillars in the Horizontal Segment (Blue dotted line).

India : Brig Girish Kumar, Deputy Surveyor General of India

Pakistan : Maj Gen Jamil-ur-Rehman Afridi, Surveyor General of Pakistan

Agreed to commence joint survey from 3 January 2005 and submit a joint report to their respective governments.

15 December 2004

Islamabad

Conventional Confidence Building Measures

India : Arun Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, Ministry of External Affairs

Pakistan : Tariq Osman Hyder, Additional Secretary (UN&EC), Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Nil

27-28 December 2004

Islamabad

Review overall progress in the second round of the Composite Dialogue and discuss issues of Peace and Security and report the same to the respective Foreign Ministers

India : Shyam Saran, Foreign Secretary

Pakistan : Riaz H Khokhar, Foreign Secretary

a. Determined to carry the peace process forward.

b. Promote regular contacts at local level and at designated places to explore further CBMs along IB and LoC.

c. Agreed to early finalization of draft agreement on pre-notification of flight testing of ballistic missiles.

d. It was agreed to notify arrests of boundary crossers immediately to the respective High Commissions; to provide Consular access within three months of arrest; to repatriate immediately after the completion of sentence and nationality verification; and to introduce mechanisms for early repatriation of inadvertent boundary crossers and those arrested under 16 years of age.

e. Decided to hold the next round of the Composite Dialogue between April and June 2005, and its review thereafter.

           

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