Leader of the Indian delegation (right) shakes hands with senior Pakistani Defense Ministry official (left) at the start of talks on the resumption of flights

By Asif Farooqi, IOL Pakistan correspondent

ISLAMABAD, August 27 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Pakistani and Indian aviation officials met Wednesday, August 27, to discuss resuming flights between the two countries, in talks seen as a key test of the two arch-rivals' four-month-old peace process.

The two-day meeting started in the garrison city of Rawalpindi near Islamabad against a backdrop of fresh tension between India and Pakistan following Monday's bomb blasts in Bombay which left 52 dead.

The director general of India's Civil Aviation Authority, Satendra Singh, led a six-member delegation in talks with Pakistan's team, headed by defense ministry bureaucrat, Major General Mohammad Ashraf Chaudhry.

India had closed its airspace and suspended its road, rail and air links in January 2003 to protest what it called a “Pakistan backed terror” attack on its parliament in 2002.

But since a friendly call from Indian Prime Minister Atal Behario Vajepayee, the two countries are moving slowly towards normalization of relations. Early last month, the officials from two sides met and decided to open the only road linking them and allow buses ply between Delhi and Lahore, the second largest city of Pakistan.

The Rawalpindi talks are likely to continue for the second day on Thursday, August 28, before a statement would be issued on the decisions made during the two-days deliberations. 

Chaudhry said Pakistan would "remain constructive" during the talks that would also address the issue of over-flights.

Issues relating to securing a guarantee for not allowing a party to shut air space unilaterally were focus of discussion on Wednesday.

The Pakistani side pushed in Wednesday’s talks for such guarantees to safeguard the interest of both the parties.

"If sufficient guarantees are secured, Pakistan would be receptive to the idea of resuming both air links and over-flights," sources said.

Officials involved in the process say once both sides give the green light, two months is the minimum period required for resumption of flights. They point to the logistics that have to be worked out, airline offices that have to be re-established in both countries and selection of the new personnel at both ends.

In a statement issued later, Pakistani delegation said it would respect the international laws pertaining to the civil aviations and expect the other side to do the same.

The talks are being held at a time when India has indirectly blamed Pakistan for Bombay’s bombing, which sparked a fresh war of words between the two bitter rivals.

Although Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani stopped short of accusing Pakistan of being behind the attacks, he pointed to the Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba as being involved.

Kasuri urged India Wednesday not to malign Pakistan before conducting an impartial investigation into the blasts.

"This is not the occasion to inflame passion and hurl baseless accusations," the state-run Pakistan Television quoted him as telling reporters in Lahore, near the Indian border.

"We should avoid the conditioned reflex of blaming each other for any incident that may happen in our countries.