The Hindu : Positive results expected from aviation talks with Pakistan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 29, 2003

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Positive results expected from aviation talks with Pakistan

By Amit Baruah

NEW DELHI NOV. 28. "Positive results" are expected from the December 1-2 talks between the civil aviation officials from Pakistan and India, diplomatic sources told The Hindu today. A team of Pakistani officials will be arriving in the capital on Sunday for the two-day talks.

The problematic issue is not the resumption of direct flights between Delhi-Lahore, Mumbai-Karachi and Delhi-Karachi, but permitting bilateral flights over Pakistani and Indian airspace once again.

However, the sources expect that in the "improved climate" of relations between India and Pakistan following the November 26 Id-ul-Fitr ceasefire, the overflights issue could become easier to handle.

They insisted that "no deal" had been worked out in advance even though there were just two days to go for the second round of talks on the civil aviation front. The first round in Rawalpindi in August was a failure.

Though it is pointed out that "special permission" can be extended to the Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee's special aircraft to fly over the Pakistani airspace for the Islamabad summit of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation nations, other officials who travel to Islamabad for earlier SAARC meetings may not be so lucky.

New Delhi had suspended both direct air links and overflights between India and Pakistan in the wake of the December 13, 2001, attack on Parliament.

On June 10, 2002, India had unilaterally offered to resume overflights, but Pakistan pointed out that New Delhi had said nothing about direct air links. No progress was made on the twin issues at the time.

At a time when Indian and Pakistani leaders, along with their other South Asian counterparts, are expected to talk about furthering trade among themselves at the SAARC summit, the absence of direct air links and overflight facilities is a glaring reminder of the vast gulf that separates New Delhi and Islamabad.

After the failure of the civil aviation talks on account of Pakistan's reported insistence that there should be no unilateral suspension of overflights, India had said such "guarantees" could be extended to other issues as well.

In his October 22 "package of proposals" to Pakistan, the External Affairs Minister, Yashwant Sinha, had linked the resumption of the Samjhauta Express to the "successful completion" of technical talks on the civil aviation front.

South Asia analysts pointed out that in case direct air links and the Samjhauta Express were restored the two countries would also have to raise staff strengths in their missions in Islamabad and New Delhi to cope with visa requirements.

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