Defence Minister George Fernandes on Monday said that India looked forward to a dialogue with Pakistan at the top level and urged Islamabad to respond to New Delhi's fresh initiative in declaring unilateral ceasefire in Jammu and Kashmir.
Fernandes, who is in Mysore to attend the two-day National Council meeting of Samata Party from Monday, said that the initiatives by the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee including the unilateral ceasefire has made an impact in Jammu and Kashmir.

“Guns have fallen silent and there is no firing from across the border,” he said.
Replying to a query, Fernandes said that there was no controversy over the issue of point 5353, a peak on the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir. He had visited the Drass sector, he said.

The defence ministry had recently clarified that it had mistakenly mentioned that the defence minister himself had stood on the point 5353. It had also clarified that Fernandes had at no point of time said that the point 5353 was now in possession of Indian troops.
Bureau Report