Pakistan-India dialogue: Working group convenes on cross-LoC trade
Two sides to discuss measures for strengthening and streamlining the existing cross-LoC trade.
NEW DELHI:
Although liberal Indians celebrated the fact that blasts in Mumbai did not prevent the India-Pakistan dialogue from being held, it was clear that India was in no mood to go beyond brisk, crisp business.
While it is yet to be decided whether Pakistan had any official hand in the Mumbai blasts, the Pakistan-India Joint Working Group on cross-LoC Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) met in New Delhi on Monday for talks.
A terse statement from the Indian foreign office merely said that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. “During the meeting, both sides reviewed the existing cross-LoC travel and trade arrangements to ensure their effective implementation and exchanged views on additional measures to facilitate cross LoC travel and trade,” the press release said.
The Indian delegation was led by Y K Sinha, Joint Secretary (PAI), ministry of external affairs and Zehra H Akbari, Director General (South Asia), ministry of foreign affairs, led the Pakistan delegation.
There has been an unquenched thirst on both sides of the border for more people-to-people measures to address the agony of divided families.
Cross-LoC trade too is mired in bottlenecks over currency and the absence of proper communication facilities between the two sides. Most believe that the potential of these CBMs will remain unfulfilled unless they are made more accessible.
However, one set of analysts asked why talks were being held at all, when the blasts – being attributed to an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot, Indian Mujihideen – had killed and maimed innocents.
“Pakistan is yet to deliver [on its promises to stop cross-border terror] in spite of repeated evidence about complicity of terrorism from Pakistan and yet Manmohan Singh is determined for dialogue,” Indian opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2011.
Although liberal Indians celebrated the fact that blasts in Mumbai did not prevent the India-Pakistan dialogue from being held, it was clear that India was in no mood to go beyond brisk, crisp business.
While it is yet to be decided whether Pakistan had any official hand in the Mumbai blasts, the Pakistan-India Joint Working Group on cross-LoC Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) met in New Delhi on Monday for talks.
A terse statement from the Indian foreign office merely said that the meeting was held in a cordial atmosphere. “During the meeting, both sides reviewed the existing cross-LoC travel and trade arrangements to ensure their effective implementation and exchanged views on additional measures to facilitate cross LoC travel and trade,” the press release said.
The Indian delegation was led by Y K Sinha, Joint Secretary (PAI), ministry of external affairs and Zehra H Akbari, Director General (South Asia), ministry of foreign affairs, led the Pakistan delegation.
There has been an unquenched thirst on both sides of the border for more people-to-people measures to address the agony of divided families.
Cross-LoC trade too is mired in bottlenecks over currency and the absence of proper communication facilities between the two sides. Most believe that the potential of these CBMs will remain unfulfilled unless they are made more accessible.
However, one set of analysts asked why talks were being held at all, when the blasts – being attributed to an alleged Lashkar-e-Taiba offshoot, Indian Mujihideen – had killed and maimed innocents.
“Pakistan is yet to deliver [on its promises to stop cross-border terror] in spite of repeated evidence about complicity of terrorism from Pakistan and yet Manmohan Singh is determined for dialogue,” Indian opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 19th, 2011.