The Indian delegation headed by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran rejected Pakistan government's proposal of self-governance in the two Kashmirs and also told the visiting delegation that the three districts of Srinagar, Kupwara and Baramula will not be demilitarized.
Complete Coverage: Indo-Pak Peace Talks
"What is self governance? It means having an institution, which represents people. We have an elected government on our side and I hope Pakistan takes steps to have similar elected government in Pakistan occupied Kashmir," Saran told his counterpart Riaz Mohammad Khan.
Briefing newsmen at the end of the two-day talks in New Delhi on Wednesday, Saran said the Indian side had given a calendar for continuing the dialogue between the two sides over the next six months. "We expect the foreign secretary-level meeting to he held in July 2006," he said.
According to the Indian delegation head, the talks were held in free and friendly atmosphere. Both sides discussed the proposals put forward by the either side and decided to work on them. It was agreed that the Poonch-Rawalakot bus service would be started soon. An agreement to locate two more convenient meetings points in addition to the existing five meeting points along the line of control was finalised as well.
The issue of Siachen also figured during the talks. The Indian side proposed that before creating a disengagement zone between the armies of India and Pakistan, the two sides must acknowledge the positions held by the either side.
"We pointed out that cross border terrorism still continued. We mentioned the involvement of the terrorists in bomb blasts in Delhi on the eve of Diwali 2005 and also attack in Bangalore. We also told them that the steps taken by the Pakistani government were not adequate and that more needed to be done to uproot the terror infrastructure," Saran said.
According to Saran, in 2005, the Indian mission in Pakistan issued 90,000 visas as against 60,000 in 2004.
"We believe that if there is more people-to-people contact, it would help the peace process in the Kashmir. Uprooting the terror infrastructure is essential before we move forward on Kashmir. It was also made clear that there could be no redrawing of boundaries. If terrorist activities come down, then people can move across the Line of Control freely," he said.
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