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India asks Pakistan to put back talks on nuclear issues- Islamabad

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, May 23, IRNA - Pakistan says India on Sunday requested for 
the postponement of the scheduled talks on nuclear confidence building
measures, citing the reason that its external affairs minister has not
yet taken office. 
"The government of India has proposed that the talks on Nuclear 
CBMs could be held two days before the Foreign Secretary level talks,"
said a statement by Pakistan`s Ministry of Foreign Affairs here. 
Pakistan and India were scheduled to hold talks on nuclear CBMs in 
Delhi on May 25 and 26, 2004 in pursuance of the decision taken by 
foreign secretaries of the two countries on February 18, 2004. 
"Today (May 23), the government of India has requested us for the 
postponement of the talks on Nuclear CBMs because, as a result of the 
recent transition in leadership, an External Affairs Minister of India
had not yet taken office. India has proposed that the talks on Nuclear
CBMs could be held two days before the Foreign Secretary level talks, 
it further said," the statement added. 
Last April New Delhi had agreed to May 25-26 date to sit with 
Islamabad at the negotiations table at the expert level, a move 
welcomed here for launching nuclear confidence-building measures. 
Dates for both the meetings were proposed 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 blood-stained 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 are expected to begin directly after
the Indian elections, 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 air links. 
The agenda for talks in the foreign secretaries level talks in 
February called 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 millions of people on
both sides, and led to a humanitarian disaster that would have sapped 
he resources of the world`s collective emergency response capability. 
"Pakistan attaches importance to the continuation of the composite 
dialogue process and looks forward to an early scheduling of the 
foreign secretary level talks as well as talks on nuclear CBMs," the 
Foreign Office statement added. 
TSH/1430/212