The foreign secretaries of both countries spoke about "resolving outstanding issues through peaceful dialogue."
Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met with his Pakistani counterpart Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhury in the first such meeting since 2012, and seven months after the last planned foreign secretary talks were cancelled by India. Mr. Jaishankar, who is on a visit to SAARC capitals, will also call on Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, and his foreign affairs advisors Sartaj Aziz and Tariq Fatemi during the day.
At the Foreign Secretary meeting, that was followed by lunch, both officials spoke about “resolving outstanding issues through peaceful dialogue,” the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported.
Sources added that Mr. Chaudhry drew the Indian secretary's attention to the recent tensions at the Line of Control (LoC) and Working Boundary.
Addressing the ceasefire violations at Line of Control (LoC) and international border (IB) in Jammu and Kashmir is a key point of the Mr. Jaishankar's agenda, even as the two sides discuss enhancing trade and connectivity in the subcontinent, as well as the SAARC summit in Islamabad in 2016.
Sources say that Mr. Jaishankar will discuss India’s concerns over Pakistan’s ceasefire violations, which according to a government reply in parliament, numbered more than 685 times in the past 8 months, leaving 24 people dead. Pakistan has accused India of “unprovoked and indiscriminate” firing during the same period, and claims Indian troops have killed several civilians and troops along the border.
According to Pakistani media reports, the government will suggest Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) to India in order to avoid another outbreak of violence at the LoC, including a new mechanism for hotlines, and talks between area commanders of border forces. Speaking to journalists in Islamabad on Monday, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s advisor on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz told journalists that, “These negotiations will help to lower hostilities along the working boundary. The prime ministers of India and Pakistan can also meet at some point after the resumption of talks.”
The two secretaries may also speak about strengthening other CBMs including cross-LoC trade in Jammu and Kashmir with more trading points, as well as the visa regime. However senior Indian officials counselled against expectations of “dramatic results” from the talks. “At best, what we are hoping for is an ice-breaker,” an official told The Hindu, adding that India’s concerns over the Mumbai 26/11 trial and of terror groups in Pakistan would also be taken up by Mr. Jaishankar.
The Foreign secretary is visiting Islamabad on the penultimate stop of his “SAARC yatra”, that Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced he was sending him on, on the back of his “SAARC cricket diplomacy” initiative of speaking to other SAARC leaders before the World Cup began.
Mr. Jaishankar has already visited Thimphu and Dhaka, and would fly to Kabul on Wednesday.
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