Pakistan hopes for 'common ground' at foreign secretary talks with India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today hoped that next month's foreign secretary-level talks would help in finding "common ground" for the resolution of differences with India.

A day after it was decided that the two nations' foreign secretaries would meet here to discuss the way forward in bilateral relations, Pakistan Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry said that the upcoming meeting on August 25 will help to carry forward the dialogue process.

He said both countries were engaged at multiple levels to improve bilateral ties and address outstanding issues.

"It will be our desire to work together where we find common ground and common benefit and to resolve differences where we have disagreements and disputes," Chaudhry said.

Chaudhry said that his Indian counterpart Sujatha Singh during a telephonic conversation yesterday raised the issue of infiltration attempts from the Pakistan side.

"My response was that we have accurate information from Military Operations Directorate about the exact fire that was received by our posts from across the LoC. Our troops fired only in response. We do not accept that there were any infiltration attempts," he said at a press briefing here.

He said he told Singh that the mechanism of Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) talking to each other every Tuesday was working well but Pakistan is open to ideas and suggestions to strengthen it.

Chaudhary also expressed concern over the reported problems faced by the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP), which he said was playing an important role under its mandate.

India has asked the UNMOGIP to vacate its official premises in New Delhi in order to "rationalise" the presence of the group which it says has "outlived its relevance".

India's stand is that the UNMOGIP's role has been overtaken by the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the Line of Control.