The Hindu : Front Page : Talks on nuclear, conventional CBMs from tomorrow

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 13, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

Talks on nuclear, conventional CBMs from tomorrow

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, DEC. 12. The second round of talks between officials from India and Pakistan on nuclear and conventional confidence building measures (CBMs) will begin here on Tuesday.

At the first round of talks held in New Delhi on June 20 and 21 both sides had agreed to place a "dedicated and secure" hotline between their Foreign Secretaries to prevent misunderstandings and "reduce risks relevant to nuclear issues." Besides exchanging a draft agreement on giving advance notice to each other before conducting missile tests, India and Pakistan had sought a dialogue with the Permanent Five of the United Nations Security Council on issues of common concern.

Finalisation of pact

Officials here talked about the possibility of finalisation of the agreement on advance notice on missile tests. Deliberations on nuclear and conventional CBMs at the second round are expected to provide crucial input for the Foreign Secretary-level dialogue scheduled in the last week of December.

An Indian delegation comprising officials from the Army, Air Force, Navy and External Affairs Ministry would take part in the nuclear CBM talks to be held on December 14 and 15, officials here said. Another set of talks would be held between two different delegations on the conventional weapons CBMs from December 15 and 16.

The talks would focus on nuclear strategic stability, an agreement on prior notification on ballistic missile tests and improving communications, they said.

Strategic stability regime

On the conventional front, this is the first time that the talks were being held between the two countries. Pakistan proposes strategic stability regime in the conventional weapons field and wants inclusion of nuclear missile restraint regime, conventional balance and conflict resolution.

"This is the first time that we are holding talks on CBMs on conventional weapons. The talks were expected to be preliminary in nature and effort will be made to understand each other's positions," the officials said.

At the Delhi round, both sides had agreed that the hotline between the Directors-General of Military Operations would be upgraded, secured and dedicated and that they would work towards an accord with technical parameters on pre-notification of flight-testing of missiles, a draft of which was handed over by India to Pakistan.

Both sides had agreed to continue their discussions and hold further talks on implementing the Lahore memorandum of understanding of February 1999.

Promoting peace

India and Pakistan also committed themselves to "strategic stability" and to national measures to reduce the risks of accidental or unauthorised use of nuclear weapons under their respective control and to adopt bilateral notification measures and mechanisms to prevent misunderstandings and misinterpretations.

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