Stand-off hits LoC opening parleys
By Our Diplomatic Correspondent

ISLAMABAD—Day-long talks between Pakistan and India held here Saturday for opening of Line of Control (LoC) to facilitate Kashmiri quake affectees, suffered deadlock.
In the meeting, Pakistan offered suggestion to open LoC at five locations for to and fro transportation of Kashmiris but India came with proposal to set up relief camps for quake affected Kashmiris.
During the crucial dialogue joint secretary of Indian External Affairs Dilip Sinha led the Indian delegation while Director General of South Asia Ibn-e-Abbass headed the Pakistani delegation. The representatives of the governments of both Kashmirs also participated in the talks.
The bilateral dialogues which were held in two separate phases ended on Saturday’s evening where in representatives of both the countries reviewed the proposals to soften restrictions on line of control, permitting Kashmiris to meet their relatives while various proposals regarding setting up of relief camps also came under discussion during the meeting but dialogues could not mark any significant breakthrough. At the end, Joint declaration also could not be announced due to deep differences over the issues that persists between the parties.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokeswoman Tasneem Aslam has expressed optimism that Indian delegation returned to Indian High Commission after the dialogue and outcome could be expected after their consultation with the Commission. She went on to say that dialogues were still underway and Pakistan was awaiting Indian response in this regard.
A high-level meeting in the Pakistan Foreign Office also continued late night but no official stance regarding Saturday’s Pak-India talks could not be disclosed.
However, when contacted, an Indian official said that both the sides had held extensive talks and a joint statement would be issued after Iftar dinner. “The talks started in the morning while the second round was held in the afternoon,” said the official.
Officials here say it is “a very important meeting” prompted by President Pervez Musharraf’s announcement on Oct 18 that Pakistan is ready to open the LoC to allow Kashmiris from the other side to come and join their relatives in the aftermath of the devastating Oct 8 earthquake that has left over 55,000 people dead.
In a formal proposal made to India on Oct 22, Pakistan suggested opening up of five crossing points along the LoC. India, however, made a counter-proposal of establishing three meeting points.
During the daylong meeting both sides thrashed out modalities of the proposals that have apparently already been discussed in detail. On the eve of the crucial talks, officials sounded hopeful of some forward movement and an agreement on letting Kashmiris move both ways “from at least a couple of points”.
A six-member Indian delegation headed by Dilip Sinha, joint secretary (Pakistan) in the ministry of external affairs, arrived here Friday night. Other members of the delegation comprise senior officials of the Ministries of Home Affairs and Defence. Ibne Abbas, director-general South Asia division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led the Pakistani delegation, which includes representatives of the Minstries of Interior, Defence and Kashmir Affairs and Northern Areas. Agencies add: Pakistani and Indian diplomats met Saturday to discuss opening the disputed border in quake-hit Kashmir amid UN warnings time is running out for thousands of survivors stranded in the bitter Himalayan cold.
While hopes are mainly pinned on more international emergency aid for more than three million people without shelter, officials expect two-way movement across Kashmir may help mitigate the suffering of victims in the quake-devastated region.
The Indian delegation arrived late Friday after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh positively responded to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf’s urgent call to ease the crossing of people on the heavily militarised frontier.
Ahead of the talks Pakistan expressed the hope that an agreement would be reached in talks to allow crossing at specific points on the Line of Control which separates the two parts of Kashmir.
“It is our hope that an agreement is reached between the two sides,” foreign ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam told reporters.
Officials said the first session at the foreign ministry lasted for two and a half hours. After a break the delegations went into a second round.
No details were immediately available but the foreign ministry said a joint statement would be issued at the conclusion.
Pakistani Kashmir bore the brunt of the massive October 8 earthquake that killed 55,000 people in Pakistan and around 1,300 in the Indian-controlled part of the Himalayan region.
Islamabad formally proposed five locations for movement across the Line of Control while New Delhi has said it would set up facilities at three points.
The neighbours fought two wars over Kashmir and enforced a ceasefire in November 2003, about two months ahead of launching a historic peace dialogue that has led to an improvement in bilateral relations after decades of hostility.
The United Nations garnered aid pledges worth more than half a billion dollars at an emergency conference in Geneva on Wednesday, but UN officials in Islamabad said much of that was for the future and ignored the need for immediate cash.
“We need the money now. If not we will be forced to scale down some of our operations, including food delivery,” UN humanitarian coordinator for Pakistan Jan Vandemoortele told a news conference on Friday.
“We need the cash to keep the helicopters flying,” he added. “It is now or never. We will not have a second chance”.
Jordan’s Queen Rania who visited the quake-hit region of Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir urged the world community to respond immediately to save lives.
The Queen, who brought with her a planeload of relief supplies, visited a makeshift hospital in Muzaffarabad and a tent school in nearby Narul village.
“It is very urgent to intensify efforts for the rehabilitation of affected people,” she told reporters during her visit to the school.