Indo-Pak talks on back of J&K attacks

Monday, July 21, 2008 at 11:07 am

With infiltration bids and terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir recording an increase lately, India is expected to press Pakistan to take concrete action to curb flow of terrorists from its soil at the Foreign Secretary-level talks here today.

At the talks marking launch of fifth round of composite dialogue, Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir will also discuss various cross-LoC confidence building measures (CBMs), including launch of truck service and more bus services.

On top of Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon’s agenda will be the sudden spurt in Militancy in J&K.

The main focus of the talks will be peace and security, Jammu and Kashmir and CBMs but other issues like prisoner release, visa relaxation, trade and commerce will also figure in the discussions.

Terrorism is expected to be the dominant theme of the talks in the backdrop of increase in infiltration attempts and terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir.

The talks come in the wake of the militant strikes in Gulmarg just yesterday. One tourist and one local were killed and five people injured in a grenade blast at the famous Gulmarg resort in Baramula district of North Kashmir.

A grenade was lobbed at the hill resort near a car stand..The attack seemed to be clearly aimed at the tourists.This has been the fourth attack in Kashmir in the last three days.

On Saturday, 10 army men were killed on the outskirts of Srinagar after an explosion engineered by the Hizbul Mujahideen blew up an Army bus.

India is also upset over the suicide attack at its embassy in Kabul earlier this month, which is believed to have been carried out by Taliban in league with Pakistan’s ISI.

Bashir, who arrived for talks yesterday ( June 20), said Pakistan wants “peaceful atmosphere on both sides”.

New Delhi is keen to take forward its ties with Islamabad but insists that it is premised on three factors, including creation of an atmosphere free of violence which involves action by Pakistan against terrorists based in that country.

India believes that all issues that “divide” the two countries need to be resolved peacefully in an atmosphere free of violence and terrorism.

(Agencies)

( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)

Indo-Pak talks on back of J&K attacks

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