Qureshi to take up Chenab, Samjhauta probe with India

Islamabad, Nov 22 (PTI) The row over sharing of Chenab
waters and the alleged links of radical Hindu activists to the
bombing of the Samjhauta Express are issues that are likely to
be raised by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi
during his visit to India next week.

Qureshi is expected to hold talks on these issues and
other key bilateral matters with his Indian counterpart Pranab
Mukherjee in New Delhi on November 26, the first day of his
four-day visit to the neighbouring country.

He is also likely to call on Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh.

The row over the sharing of the Chenab waters after the
commissioning of the Baglihar dam in Jammu and Kashmir has
become a major irritant in bilateral ties, with Pakistan
threatening to take the issue to an international arbiter.

The matter was taken up by Pakistan President Asif Ali
Zardari during his meeting with Prime Minister Singh on the
sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September.

Recent disclosures about the alleged involvement of an
Indian Army officer and Hindu radicals in last year's bombing
of the Samjhauta Express train are also likely to be taken up
by Qureshi during his meetings with Indian leaders, official
sources said.

Nearly 70 people, most of them Pakistanis, were killed in
two bomb blasts and the resulting fire that swept through
several coaches of the trans-border train service.

The Kashmir dispute, economic cooperation, trade and
finalisation of an agreement on liberalising the visa regime
between the two countries is also likely to figure in
Qureshi's talks with Indian leaders, The News daily said.

Besides New Delhi, Qureshi is also expected to travel to
Chandigarh, Jaipur and Ajmer, where he will visit the shrine
of Sufi saint Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti.

There have been several high-level contacts between India
and Pakistan over past few months. Zardari and Singh met on
sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on September
24 while Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani met Singh on the
sidelines of a regional summit in Beijing on October 24.

This will be the first meeting between Qureshi and
Mukherjee after the launch of trans-Line of Control trade
between the two parts of Kashmir.

"It will not be a structured dialogue but the two
foreign ministers will discuss all aspects of bilateral
relations, including the ongoing dialogue process and
cross-LoC confidence-building measures," a senior official
told The News daily.

In the coming weeks, India and Pakistan are expected to
hold crucial meetings on other issues included in the
composite dialogue process.

There are indications that a breakthrough might be
achieved in an upcoming meeting on the Sir Creek maritime
boundary dispute, which is scheduled to be held in New Delhi
during December 2-3.

These meetings are part of the fifth round of the
Pakistan-India composite dialogue launched in July this year.

Qureshi's upcoming visit will be his second trip to India
in five months. He had to cut short his first bilateral visit
to India in June because of the death of his mother-in-law.
PTI RHL
PMR
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