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Pakistan seeks nuclear talks with India

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, April 5, IRNA - Pakistan has proposed to India talks on 
nuclear confidence-building measures (CBMs) next month, Foreign Office
announced in Islamabad on Monday. 
"In pursuance of the road-map worked out between the foreign 
secretaries of Pakistan and India on 18th February 2004, for 
resumption of composite dialogue, Pakistan has today proposed 25-26 
May as the dates for hosting expert level talks in nuclear CBMs," a 
Foreign Office statement said. 
Pakistan and India agreed in February on an aggressive roadmap for 
peace talks, with the hope to put their bloodstained modern history 
ehind them, setting up a series of high-level meetings on flash point 
issues like Kashmir, terrorism and nuclear weapons. 
The dialogue will culminate with a summit in August between the two
nations` foreign ministers - an unimaginable breakthrough only two 
years after the troops from the atomic adversaries stood eye-ball to 
eye-ball on the brink of war. 
"The proposal was conveyed by director general (South Asia) to the 
Indian deputy high commissioner in Islamabad, the statement said. 
A series of mid-level meetings will begin directly after the Indian
elections later in April, including in June to discuss ways to combat 
drug trafficking and smuggling. 
Pakistan and India have been moving closer together since April 
last year, restoring ambassador-level diplomatic ties, and resuming 
bus, rail and plane services. 
The agenda for talks in the foreign secretaries level talks in 
February calls for the two countries to set up eight groups to tackle 
Kashmir, nuclear arms, terrorism, drugs and trade, among other issues.
Pakistan and India nearly went to war in 2002, following an attack 
on India`s parliament that New Delhi blamed on Kashmiri groups. 
Pakistan denied the charges. 
A war, which would have been the fourth between nuclear-armed 
rivals, was averted after intense international mediation. 
Any nuclear exchange would likely have killed tens of millions of 
people on both sides, and led to a humanitarian disaster that would 
have sapped the resources of the world`s collective emergency response
capability. 
TSH/1430/212 
End