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Pakistan welcomes Indian response to nuclear talks

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, April 21, IRNA -- Pakistan has welcomed the Indian response
to its proposal to hold talks on nuclear confidence building measures.
"These are very important talks and Pakistan looks forward to 
participating in them India," Foreign Office said in a statement. 
On Wednesday India agreed to Pakistan`s proposal for expert level 
talks on nuclear confidence building measures on May 25 and 26. 
"We have today conveyed our acceptance of these dates," India`s 
Ministry of External Affairs spokesman Navtej Sarna said. 
Official sources in Islamabad said that India has also conveyed to
Islamabad its readiness to have a meeting of the Committee on Drug 
Trafficking and Smuggling on June 15 and 16. 
Dates for both the meetings were proposed by Pakistan in pursuance
of `roadmap` outlined in the meeting of foreign secretaries of the two
countries in Islamabad on February 18. 
Pakistan and India agreed in February on an aggressive roadmap for
peace talks, with the hope to put their bloodstained modern history 
behind them, setting up a series of high-level meetings on flashpoint 
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. 
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. 
TK/TSH/AH/210 
End