Musharraf-Vajpayee summit was a major breakthrough

Asif Farooqi, IOL Correspondent

ISLAMABAD, January 27 (IslamOnline.net) - Pakistan and India will resume their much-awaited dialogue to resolve half a century of disputes in Islamabad on February 16-18.

The announcement to launch "composite" dialogue was made simultaneously in Islamabad and New Delhi.

It falls hot on the heels of a landmark summit between Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in Islamabad on Monday, January 5.

During their one-on-one, their first since Musharraf abruptly left the Indian resort city of Agra before signing a joint declaration, the two leaders agreed to resume talks after coming at the brink of war over Kashmir in 2002.

Senior foreign ministry officials from both countries would meet in Islamabad on February 16-18 followed by a one day meeting of foreign secretaries.

"In pursuance of the understanding reached between the leaders of Pakistan and Indian on January 6, the governments of Pakistan and Indian have agreed to hold talks in Islamabad from 16-18 on the commencement of the process of composite dialogue," said a statement issued by the Foreign Office in Islamabad.

The participation or level of talks has been a diplomatic controversy between the two countries, with India suggesting it should be held on a lower level while Pakistan pressed for secretary-level talks.

The envisaged talks will crown reciprocated confidence-building measures taken by the two countries to end hostilities during the last one year.

It included ceasefire on disputed borders and opening of communications links, particularly road, rail and air transport.

The initiative came from Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajepayee who extended last April a hand of friendship to Pakistan.

Pakistan reciprocated the gesture and now the two sides are in the process of resolving their disputes, including Kashmir which has been the cause of two out of three wars between India and Pakistan.

Contentious Issues

The two countries' joint secretaries and director general of the foreign ministries would workout the agenda of discussion, though the "composite dialogue" phrase means resuming dialogue on eight contentious issues.

These eight issues include some of the most contentious issues like Kashmir, Sir Kreek and other border disputes.

Political analysts attach great importance to this process of dialogue as they believe that the nature of composite dialogue would ultimately lead the two countries to controversial issues which both sides have been shying away from.

"You cannot expect anything concrete from the initial rounds of talks as the officials from the two sides would only be able to deal with the procedural matters and but the talks could bore fruit only if they continue for long without interruptions," Hasan Askari Rizve, a political analysts, told IslamOnline.net.

While India and Pakistan would be discussing issues of international importance like Kashmir, much of the time is likely to be spent on other smaller, but important border disputes which have haunted security officials for decades.

Sir Creek is a border point between the two countries in the common waters.

At the western extremity of the Rann of Kutch this stream flows through a swamp to the sea and has changed its course several times.

India's long-standing proposal is that the dividing line be along "the center of the navigable channel".

This follows international law and is in consonance with the 1914 decision of the commissioner of Sind.

Pakistan, which bases its case on the map that accompanied the decision, says that the dispute could be settled by marking the terminal point of the creek at the sea first and then moving inland following the center of the channel.

Since the Creek ends in the sea, the maritime boundary remains to be worked out as well.

One negative fallout of this has been the periodic arrest of scores of straying Indian and Pakistani fishermen by the authorities on both sides.

A second outstanding issue is Siachen, which is a glacier 76-km in length with a width of 2 km to 8 km, between two ranges - Karakoram in the east and Saltora in the west.

Starting from point NJ9842 in the South, the glacier runs in a north western direction flanking several towns in POK close to the Saltora range, and in a north eastern direction it extends up to the Karakoram pass, thus forming more or less a triangular shape.

The dispute started in April 1984, when the Indian troops launched Operation Meghdoot, which brought most of the area under the control of India.

Pakistan made many unsuccessful attempts to dislodge the Indian troops from their posts.

There have been six rounds of negotiations on Siachen prior to the current talks.

Though, both the sides came close to solving the issue in 1989, they are yet to arrive at a solution to date.

One of the major reasons for this failure has been the absence of a defined boundary between India and Pakistan demarcating the Siachen glacier.

The 1972 agreement specified the northern most point of the Line of Control (LoC) as the one defined by the cease-fire line of 1949 Karachi Agreement -- NJ 9842.

This resulted in differing interpretations by both the countries of its further demarcation northwards.

India interprets the extension of the CFL from this point to the North up to another point Indira Col, whereas Pakistan interprets the line to run North East from NJ982 to the Karakoram pass.

A third contentious issue is Tulbul Navigation Project.

In 1984, India started construction of a structure, 440 ft. long with a navigation lock, at the mouth of the Wular Lake, in the town of Ningli near Sopore, 40 kms north of Srinagar.

This was to enhance navigation in the lean period between Sopore and Baramula, a distance of about 20 kms.

Construction stopped in 1987 when Pakistan, referring to the construction as a barrage meant for water storage, accused India of violating the Indus Water Treaty 1960.

India has reiterated that the construction, only meant for enhancing ‘navigation’, is permissible under the treaty.