Pak. preparing its own CBMs?

By B. Muralidhar Reddy

ISLAMABAD, AUG. 3 Is the military government in Pakistan planning to offer a package of its own Confidence Building Measures (CBMs) to create a positive atmosphere for future talks with India?

The largest circulated Pakistani Urdu daily, Jang, said in a report today that Islamabad was in the process of preparing comprehensive proposals on the CBMs and they would be handed over by the Pakistan Foreign Secretary, Mr. Inam-ul Haq, when he meets his Indian counterpart, Ms. Chokila Iyer, on the sidelines of the SAARC Standing Committee meeting in Colombo next week.

The response of Pakistan when India announced a series of CBMs, five to be precise, in the run-up to the Agra summit was that such measures should flow from the Summit dialogue and not precede it. When India expressed its keenness to send the Director-General of Military Operations (DGMO) to Islamabad to discuss various issues related to border management, the Pakistani reaction was that such CBMs should follow the summit.

However, there was a slight change in the attitude in the post- summit phase. Islamabad made it known that it had received the CBMs from India and it was in the process of `formally examining' them. The Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman announced that the each of the CBMs would be considered on `merit'.

Quoting sources, the Jang has said that Pakistan is proposing reduction of forces at an `appropriate level from both the sides' in order to consolidate the ceasefire on the Line of Control. The report said that such a measure would also help India reduce the size of its forces in Kashmir.

The paper has said that as part of the package Pakistan would agree to provide safe passage for withdrawal of ``occupant Indian forces'' from Siachen without any demarcation. Apart from a number of other proposals, Pakistan would also propose a more flexible visa regime for the people of ``occupied Kashmir'' so that they could easily visit ``Azad Kashmir'', the report said.

The paper quoted Mr. Kamran Niaz, a senior Pakistan Foreign Office official and Head of the India Desk, as saying that Pakistan Foreign Secretary would hold an `important meeting' with his Indian counterpart at Colombo next week. He has been quoted as saying that only the proposed meeting would make it clear how far India was willing to `comply with the understanding' reached during the Agra summit. He told the paper that the DGMOs of both the countries were in touch but the proposal for the visit of the Indian DGMO had not yet been finalised.

Lashkar threat

In a related development the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief, Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, has reiterated that if India did not change its `attitude' Indian military installations inside Kashmir and other parts of the country would be targeted. Addressing a press conference at Karachi Press Club he said the deployment of U.N. observers in Pakistan to oversee implementation of the U.N. sanctions against Afghanistan was not acceptable and the mujahideen (militants) would pressure the Pakistan Government against the proposal.

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