India, Pakistan to discuss conventional, nuke CBMs Monday

By IANS,

New Delhi/Islamabad : Seeking to push forward their revived peace process, India and Pakistan will hold two-day talks starting Monday in Islamabad to discuss conventional and nuclear confidence-building measures.


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Senior officials of the two countries will focus, among other things, on implementing the cross-Kashmir trade and travel CBMs that were unveiled during the talks between foreign ministers in July.

Issues relating to nuclear security, which have acquired an added resonance following the Fukushima radiation disaster in March, and missile tests will also be discussed, said official sources.

The meeting of the Joint Working Group on nuclear and conventional CBMs is being held after a gap of four years. The last nuclear CBM meeting had taken place Oct 14, 2007.

India and Pakistan will exchange the lists of their nuclear installations and facilities Jan 1 under “Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack Against Nuclear Installations and Facilities”. This pact was signed by Dec 31, 1988 and both countries exchange the list every year.

India and Pakistan resumed their dialogue process in February this year that stalled after the Nov 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, which were perpetrated by Pakistani terrorists.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousaf Raza Gilani met in the Maldives in November and decided to give a push to trust-building measures to give an added momentum to the revived dialogue process.

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