NEW DELHI: After the lack of progress at the recent Defence Secretary-level talks on Siachen, all eyes are on the May 17-18 discussions on Sir Creek in Islamabad. Given that Sir Creek is easier to settle than Siachen, a resolution of the dispute is being seen as a possible indicator of larger progress in India-Pakistan dialogue.

Days ahead of the talks, Pakistan High Commissioner Shahid Malik called on External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and is said to have taken up the Sir Creek question, among other issues.

For long, both Indian and Pakistani officials said in private that the dispute over Sir Creek in the Rann of Kutch could be resolved if the two countries gave the required political push to their discussions.

Now, with both countries having completed a joint survey, diplomatic sources are hopeful that the issue could move towards resolution. India's contention has always been that demarcation of the Sir Creek should be mid-channel.

In a paper prepared for the Henry L. Stimson Center in April 1994, Mumbai-based lawyer and commentator A.G. Noorani has pointed out that while India asserts that the boundary lies in the middle of the channel, Pakistan claims that it is on the east bank.

"The delineation of the Indo-Pakistan maritime boundary is linked to this determination. Pakistan insists that the boundary in the creek first be delimited in order to establish the point on the land from which a sea boundary may be defined. India's concerns centre on the maritime boundary," Mr. Noorani stated.

The paper added: "It is not difficult to see that a compromise could be worked out in the light of the conditions of navigation today. Such a compromise might be reached by itself or, better still, as part of a wider accord on the maritime boundary."

During their meeting in Havana in September 2006, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf agreed that experts should "meet immediately" to agree on the coordinates for a joint survey of Sir Creek and adjoining area, without prejudice to each other's position.

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