BISHKEK: Pakistan and India have agreed to respect the 2003 ceasefire agreement in order to reduce tensions, Prime Minister’s advisor on national security and foreign affair Sartaj Aziz said in an interview.
Aziz and Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed held a meeting in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Friday on the sidelines of 13th Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and discussed to boost up bilateral ties‚ ways to solve tension on Line of Control (LoC) and dialogue process between the two countries.
Giving his comments following the meeting, Aziz said that he had very useful meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister and they were agreed that both India and Pakistan should respect 2003 ceasefire agreement.
“I had a very useful meeting last evening with Mr. Salman Khursheed in a frank and cordial atmosphere,” Aziz said.
“We both agreed that it was important to respect the 2003 ceasefire agreement in order to reduce tensions and for this purpose,” Aziz said “We also agreed that the existing mechanism shall be used more effectively.”
Aziz said that Pakistan and India have two mechanisms at present that include regular contacts between Director General Military Operations and Joint Working Group on Cross Line of Control CBMs at the level of Joint Secretaries of the two countries.
“The two DG (MOs) talk regularly every Tuesday and we have a Joint Working Group on Cross LoC CBMs at level of Joint Secretaries or DG of Ministries of Foreign Affairs,” he said.
The Prime Minister’s advisor said that “I conveyed our concern and disappointment that the momentum which the two Prime Ministers had created for the peace process and the composite dialogue, soon after the new government took over the Pakistan in June this year has been arrested by the unfortunate incident of 6 August.”
“I also emphasized that the objective of establishing durable peace in South Asia is of such paramount importance that it should not be held hostage to electoral politics or the process allowed to be derailed by a single incident,” he said.
Aziz further said that the two sides agreed to use diplomatic channels to finalize the agenda for a meeting likely to be held between prime ministers of the two countries in New York this month keeping in view the progress made so far in various working groups and in back channel contacts.
