India, Pakistan to review cross-LoC CBMs

Islamabad: India and Pakistan will review the current status of the cross-LoC confidence building measures in place between the two countries on Tuesday in New Delhi.

At the meeting of the Joint Working Group on Cross-LoC CBMs, Pakistani delegation will be headed by Riffat Masood, Director General (South Asia) Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Indian side will be led by Rudrendra Tandon, Joint Secretary (Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran) Ministry of External Affairs. In a meeting between Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry and Indian High Commissioner TCA Raghavan on January 25, it was decided to hold a meeting of the Joint Working Group, the Pakistan Foreign Office said in a statement. The JWG would discuss ways and means to further streamline and improve the modalities regarding trade across the Line of Control (LoC). Following the discovery of narcotics in one of the trucks from the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir side on January 15, trade and travel across the LoC had been suspended. Cross-LoC trade on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route resumed on February 26 after remaining suspended for over five weeks. Since the Working Group is meeting after a gap of one and half years with the last meeting held in July 2012 in Islamabad, it will also review the current status of the CBMs that are in place and give recommendations, the statement said.