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Indian
and Pakistani officials attending nuclear talks
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NEW
DELHI, June 20 (IslamOnline.net & news Agencies) – Asian nuclear
rivals Indian and Pakistan agreed Sunday, June 20, to maintain a ban
on nuclear tests and set up a hotline to avoid a sudden nuclear
confrontation.
"Each
side reaffirmed its unilateral moratorium on conducting further
nuclear test explosions unless, in exercise of national sovereignty,
it decides that extraordinary events have jeopardized its supreme
interests," said an Indian Foreign Ministry statement.
"Both
countries called for regular working level meetings to be held among
all the nuclear powers to discuss issues of common concern," said
a joint statement at the end of the two countries' first talks on
nuclear risks since the 1998 tests, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
After
tit-for-tat nuclear tests in 1998, Indian and Pakistan, which are not
signatories of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or the
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), declared a moratorium, saying
further tests were unnecessary.
A
Pakistani source told IslamOnline.net Thursday, May 6, that Indian
authorities have responded positively to a Pakistani communication
through diplomatic channels about a
formal
agreement to
ban nuclear tests.
Hotline
The
hotline will link the top civil servants in the Indian and Pakistani
foreign ministries, said a joint statement at the end of the two
countries' first talks on nuclear risks since the 1998 tests.
"A
dedicated and secure hotline would be established between the two
foreign secretaries, through their respective foreign offices, to
prevent misunderstandings and reduce risks relevant to nuclear
issues," it said.
The
statement noted that an existing hotline between senior military
commanders, who have conversations scheduled once a week, would also
be "upgraded, dedicated and secured".
It
said the two countries' nuclear programs were "based on their
national security imperatives" and "constitute a factor for
stability."
The
two countries were hit by US-led military sanctions in 1998 amid
concern about the stability of their nuclear arsenals.
The
sanctions were eased after the New Delhi and Islamabad joined
Washington's so-called anti-terror coalition formed in the wake of the
9/11 attacks.
The
meeting in New Delhi which began Saturday, June 19, marks the first
negotiations between the two countries since a left-leaning coalition
took office in India on May 22 after the
defeat
of the Hindu nationalist government.
Former
Hindu nationalist prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee had championed
peace moves with Pakistan and agreed to the current nuclear talks when
he visited Islamabad in January for a regional summit.
The
two countries' foreign ministers are due to hold their first meeting
Monday on the sidelines of an Asian conference in China.
Their
foreign secretaries will also sit down next weekend in New Delhi for
negotiations, including on the half-century dispute over Kashmir.
Pakistan
and Indian had fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of
them over Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir.
Their
armies routinely exchange fire along the 750 kilometer (465 miles)
Line of Control, which divides Kashmir between both countries,
and their 230 kilometer (143 mile) international border.
On
May 2, 2003, they
restored
full diplomatic ties to settle half a century of disputes "for
the economic and social betterment of their peoples.
The
jerky start to peace moves led to the
resumption
of a bi-weekly
bus service and the restoration of full diplomatic links.
Both
countries approved last February a
roadmap
of four-month discussions on disputes including the issue of
Kashmir.
