Schedule for six working groups meeting being finalised under second round of composite dialogue with India: foreign office

A schedule for the meetings of six working groups under the second round of the composite dialogue with India is being negotiated, and will be announced as soon it is finalised, said Foreign Office (FO) Spokesman Jalil Abbas Jillani here on Monday. These will be the groups on Wullar Barrage, narcotics, terrorism, Siachin, promotion of friendly exchanges, economic relations, and trade. The dates are being settled through diplomatic channels and in final stages, he added.
The second round, the spokesman said, would commence from April and conclude in coming July. The two foreign secretaries will later meet either here or in the Indian capital to review the progress and prepare a report for their respective foreign ministers.
Earlier, reports had visualised that the ministerial meetings would take place in August this year, and then decide the future course of action. They will, it was accepted by knowledgeable sources, confirm the decisions on the issues that are arrived at by then and chart out a calendar for the meetings by other groups.
Jalil Abbas Jillani told a questioner that no date had been finalised for the visit of President Pervez Musharraf to India in response to an invitation by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to witness one of the cricket matches in his country.
On the question of persons eligible to use the proposed Kashmir bus service for travelling between Muzzaffarabad and Srinagar, Jilani agreed that initially, it was for the divided families living on either side of the Line of Control, but it could be used by Pakistani or Indian citizens.
He offered this explanation when his attention was drawn to a resolution passed by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly of preferring the use of Kashmir bus service to Kashmiris only, but was later modified to include Pakistanis and Indians.
He also reiterated the stand of Pakistan that disapproving any military action plan against Iran, saying that Islamabad will not allow the use of its soil for any such adventure.
He repeated an observation by President General Pervez Musharraf in this regard, urging that the current American stand-off with Iran should be settled peacefully instead of any military action against that country.
Jillani also spoke of the upcoming visit of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Islamabad, saying that she will be arriving here on Wednesday afternoon and start her official rounds from the next day.
Ms Rice will make a short trip to Afghanistan on Thursday, and then start her official engagements in Islamabad. She will call on President General Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, and then sit down for talks with Pakistani delegation led by Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri.
This will be her first visit as Secretary of State, and the agenda for talks included subject like bilateral relations, Afghanistan, Iraq, situation in the region, etc.
He could not say if she was going to make any announcement about the Pakistani purchase of fighter planes, but said the defence co-operation between the two countries will also be discussed.