Pakistan, India to hold talks on streamlining CBMs

RECORDER REPORT

ISLAMABAD: Senior officials of Pakistan and India will meet on July 19 (Thursday) here to review confidence-building measures (CBMs) and to streamline them and propose new ones, facilitating travel and trade across the Line of Control (LoC).

According to Foreign Office’s spokesperson Moazzam Ahmad Khan, the meeting of Pakistan-India working group on cross-LoC CBMs will be held in Islamabad on July 19.

During the talks, Pakistan delegation will be headed by Zehra Akbari, the Director-General (South Asia), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Indian side will be led by Y K Sinha, the Joint Secretary (PAI), Ministry of External Affairs.

The joint working group is meeting in pursuance of a decision taken during the Foreign Secretary level talks on Peace and Security, including CBMs, Jammu and Kashmir and Friendly Exchanges held on July 4-5 this year.

“The Working Group will discuss Confidence Building Measures to facilitate travel and trade across the LoC,” said the spokesman.

During the recent visit of Foreign Secretary Jalil Abbas Jilani to New Delhi, the two countries had agreed to convene a meeting of the working group.

At the Foreign Secretary level talks, both sides had also recognised the need to strengthen the existing cross-LoC CBMs for streamlining the arrangements to facilitate travel and trade across the LoC.

Following ceasefire along the LoC in November 2003, both countries have focused on people-centric approach, encouraging movement of people, goods and ideas across the LoC.