Pakistan, India revive talks on marine issues

Coast guards talks focus on maritime boundary violations by fishermen

Pakistan and India have held maritime dialogue, addressing issues pertaining to boundary violations by fishermen from both sides and enhancing cooperation in the area of maritime search and rescue, and combating pollution at sea, media reported on Friday.

According to the media, the bilateral talk held in New Delhi on May 28 marks a positive turn in ties and indicates the continuity of existing dialogue.

The development is also significant as it comes a year after India refused to participate in the annual talks scheduled for July 2017 following the controversy over the former Indian Navy official Kulbhushan Jadhav who is in custody in Pakistan.

Despite the ongoing tension at the Line of Control, both sides restarted the Track II Neemrana Dialogue in April where a common desire to continue with normal exchanges was conveyed by policy specialists.

The four-member delegation of the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) was led by its Director General Rear Admiral Zaka-ur-Rehman.



Rehman was accompanied by Director Operations of the PMSA, an official each from the defence and foreign affairs ministries. Two members -- a defence attaché and political secretary at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi -- also participated in the talks.

The Indian side was represented by Indian Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh.

The high-level meeting was conducted under the provision of the Memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the two agencies in 2005.

A statement issued by the Foreign Office said that the delegation held official talks with the ICG and both the sides emphasised continuous and optimal utilisation of the existing tracks of bilateral cooperation.

“High Commissioner Sohail Mahmood also hoped that this fruitful interaction between the two institutions would help alleviate sufferings of fishermen, particularly those who cross inadvertently, apart from strengthening mutual collaboration in search-and-rescue and foster enhanced cooperation between the two sides with regard to response to pollution and natural calamities,” the statement added.



Pakistan High Commissioner to New Delhi Sohail Mehmood, while commenting on the development said the revival of dialogue between the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (PMSA) and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) will contribute towards efforts underway for bilateral corporation.

"A lot of focus of the meeting was on (violation of maritime boundary by) fishermen," Indian Coast Guard Director General Rajendra Singh said.

"Focus of the talks was also on cooperation in the area of search and rescue operations and cooperation in the field of (maritime) pollution," he added.

"This annual meeting is a significant link between the two maritime agencies for addressing issues pertaining to maritime boundary violations by fishermen and enhancing cooperation in the domain of maritime search and rescue and marine environment pollution.

"The two service heads from Indian Coast Guard and Pakistan MSA also have a hotline link between them for regular exchange of information on non-military maritime issues as per the MoU between the two governments," a statement by the Indian Coast Guard said.