India, Pakistan top security officials hold talks
Senior Indian and Pakistani security officials have held talks on a variety of issues including terrorism and repeated ceasefire violations along their de facto border.
According to a joint statement, the South Asian neighbors’ national security advisers held talks in a "candid, cordial and constructive atmosphere” in the Thai capital, Bangkok, Sunday.
The senior officials discussed a range of issues including terrorism, security issues and ways to maintain peace along the Line of Control (LoC) separating India- and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The talks came days after a surprise meeting between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistan Premier Nawaz Sharif was held on the sidelines of a recent conference in the French capital, Paris.
"Pursuant to the meeting of the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in Paris, the National Security Advisers, accompanied by the Foreign Secretaries (top diplomats), met in Bangkok today," the statement said, adding, "Discussions covered peace and security, terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, and other issues, including tranquility along LoC."
Violence, including cross-border fire exchanges, has recently flared up between Indian and Pakistani troops along the disputed de facto border in Kashmir. The two sides have accused each other of provocation.
Pakistan and India have been engaged in hostility over Kashmir ever since their independence from British colonial rule and their partition in 1947.
Islamabad and New Delhi agreed on a ceasefire in 2003, and launched a peace process the following year. Since then, there have been sporadic clashes, with both sides accusing the other of violating the ceasefire.
The process was, however, suspended after over 160 people lost their lives in the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
The two neighbors have fought two wars over the mountainous Kashmir region as the two countries both lay claim to the entire territory. Pakistan controls one-third of Kashmir, with the remaining two-thirds being under India’s control.
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