NISSAR AHMAD THOKAR
Islamabad, July 15: Pakistan foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Thursday said he and his Indian counterpart S M Krishna had “frank, candid and honest discussions” on “where we stand” and “how to move forward”.
“We had frank, candid and honest discussions on terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, recent developments in Jammu and Kashmir, Sir Creek and Siachen,” said Qureshi at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart SM Krishna here this evening.
Kashmir-related Confidence Building Measures were also discussed and how to built on it on what was achieved earlier, Qureshi said.
India and Pakistan discussed ways to hasten trial process happening here (on Mumbai attacks). Pakistan would take seriously the leads given by home minister P Chidambaram, said Qureshi.
He said both sides agree that the dialogue is the only way forward. “We have to respect the Indian point of view and they have to understand the Pakistani point of view. So these discussions were useful in creating an understanding on how to move forward,” Qureshi said.
Qureshi said areas of economic cooperation and ways of increasing people-to-people contact were also discussed and Islamabad is looking to build on the progress made in India-Pakistan relations in the past four years.
Addressing the press conference, Krishna said that Pakistan Foreign Minister gave a commitment that Pakistan’s soil will not be used against India. “I am going back with the hope that there will be further investigations in Pakistan into Mumbai attacks and if it could help unravel the conspiracy, perhaps this could be the best confidence building measure,” says Krishna.
Earlier, Krishna called on Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and discussed the issue of terrorism, with the Pakistani President stressing for timely intelligence sharing between the two countries to prevent acts of terror.
Krishna, who arrived here Wednesday on a three-day visit to hold parleys with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi, met Zardari and discussed issues of bilateral concern.
Zardari said that “destinies of the people of both Pakistan and India and development of the entire region lies in friendly, cooperative and good neighbourly relations between the two countries.”
Krishna was accompanied by Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao and Indian High Commissioner in Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal.
From the Pakistani side those who attended the meeting included Qureshi, Interior Minister Rahman Malik and Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir.
In a related development, Pakistan Army chief, General Parvez Ashfaq Kayani, met Gilani before the two Foreign Ministers called on the Pakistani prime minister.
Thursday’s meeting is the most significant bilateral interaction since the prime ministers of India and Pakistan decided in Bhutan in April to normalise a relationship hit badly after Pakistani terrorists ravaged Mumbai in 2008.
On Friday, before leaving for home in the evening, Krishna will meet delegations from the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), the Awami National Party (ANP) and the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) of former prime minister Nawaz Sharif.

‘KASHMIR CORE ISSUE’
Pakistan’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Qamar Zaman Kaira, has said that as far as Islamabad is concerned, the Kashmir issue is and will always be the core subject of discussions between Pakistan and India.
“Pakistan wants to hold discussions (with India) on all issues, and wants to resolve all pending issues, but the core issue is the Kashmir issue,” Kaira told a wire service.
“We always say we are ready to resolve all issues. India has its own security concerns,” he added.
Kaira also said that the resumption of talks between Pakistan and India should be seen as a positive sign for subcontinent ties, and added that he was hopeful about the suspended composite dialogue restarting.
“We welcome this acceptance (for a dialogue) by the Indian side, and now resumption of dialogue, ultimately to the composite dialogue. We hope so, because dialogue is the only way forward for better relations between India and Pakistan,” Kaira said.

EXPERTS FOR KISHENGANGA ARBITRATION
PTI adds from New Delhi: With the deadline for appointment of neutral umpires ending Friday, India and Pakistan have exchanged the names of four experts each for the International Court of Arbitration to resolve the dispute over the 330-MW Kishenganga hydel project in Jammu and Kashmir.
If the two countries fail to settle on three names, including that of the chairman, by tomorrow, the matter will be decided by a ‘draw of lots’.
The treaty states that once the process of arbitration is initiated by any of the two countries, the umpires and the chairman have to be appointed within 60 days.
The draw of lots will involve the UN, the World Bank and some institutions of international repute as per the provisions of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty.
The names were exchanged during a meeting between representatives of both sides in Islamabad on Tuesday, sources in the Government said.
Both sides suggested two names each for the post of chairman and two names each for the other umpires.
Among the two names, India is learnt to have proposed the name of former Justice of Australian High Court Michael Kirby for the post of chairman.
It also proposed UK-based Prof Asit K Biswas as the technical expert. Biswas is an expert on issues related to global water management.
The Indian side led by Chairman, Central Water Commission A K Bajaj also recommended Prof Laurence Boisson de Chazournes of the Netherlands as the legal expert. De Chazournes is on the Board of Directors of an organisation, International Dispute Settlement.
Pakistan, on its part, is learnt to have suggested names of Jordanian national Awn Shawkat Al-Khasawneh of the International Court of Justice and Edith Weiss Brown, a scholar on water management for the post of chairman.
Pakistan has recommended names of one Dutch professor for technical expert and a UK national for the legal expert.
The two countries, which have agreed on international arbitration, had been having a dispute over how to finalise the three neutral umpires who will supervise the legal battle between the two sides in a court of arbitration.
The two countries have already nominated two legal experts (arbitrators) each to contest their case over the power project being built in Jammu and Kashmir.
Accusing India of breaching the provisions of the 1960 Indus Water Treaty by diverting the water of the Jhelum tributary for its Kishenganga hydel power project, Pakistan sought international arbitration in May this year after the two countries failed to resolve the issue bilaterally for over two decades.
Under the provisions of the treaty, the two countries will have to appoint three umpires, including a Chairman, before the court of arbitration is set up to decide on the issue.

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Lastupdate on : Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:30:00 GMT
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