By NNN-PTI,
Islamabad : Pakistan and India are close to concluding an agreement on the Sir Creek maritime boundary dispute, which has been hanging fire for decades, with all issues having been resolved, former Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has said.
“On Sir Creek, President (Asif Ali) Zardari and (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh could sign an agreement tomorrow as a lot of work has been done,” Kasuri told Geo News in an interview.
The joint map and joint survey has been done and there are no more issues to be resolved between the countries, he said.
Kasuri’s remarks assume significance as President Asif Ali Zardari in his address to the National Assembly had stated that Islamabad and New Delhi could resolve issues like Sir Creek and Siachen at the earliest.
Kasuri, a close confidant of former President Pervez Musharraf, claimed “70 to 80 per cent” of issues related to the military standoff between the two countries on the Siachen glacier had also been resolved.
Referring to India’s demand for authentication of troop positions on Siachen ahead of the final solution of the issue, he said Pakistan had turned down this proposal as it would have meant accepting India’s “aggression”.
However, he said both countries had found a way to meet their “basic agreements” without resorting to authentication of troop positions. He did not give details.