Kashmir CBMs talks on 18th

ISLAMABAD - Pakistan and India will discuss new Kashmir specific CBMs such as trade across the Line of Control (LoC) and truck service between Muzaffarabad and Srinagar as they hold their expert level talks on confidence building measures here on July 18.

The South Asian nuclear rivals' talks on LoC related CBMs earlier scheduled to be held on July 10 were postponed because of suicide bombing in Indian Embassy at Kabul.

"The talks were put off because the head of Indian delegation, Joint Secretary T C A Raghavan was sent to Kabul by New Delhi soon after the terrorist attack. However, now the important meeting has been rescheduled and it will be held on July 18," said an official here on Sunday asking for anonymity.

He said that the forthcoming meeting on Kashmir specific CBMs was important because the two sides would deliberate upon some new measures, including intra-Kashmir trade and the launch of a truck service between the divided parts of the disputed territory.

The official said that the two sides would also take up the lists of items to be traded through the truck service during the talks adding that they would also discuss the existing bus services and steps to improve them further.

He said that the neighbouring states were scheduled to hold the foreign secretaries' level talks in New Delhi on July 21-22 to formally launch the fifth round of the composite dialogue. However, he added that the recent allegations by India against Pakistan about its involvement in Kabul Embassy's bombing could impact the negotiations and even the meeting could be postponed.

Nonetheless, he said the two foreign secretaries, if their talks were held, could announce the start of cross LoC trade and commencement of truck service in the light of suggestions forwarded to them by the experts from the two sides.