Pak Foreign Secretary arrives in New Delhi

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan on Monday arrived in New Delhi for talks with his Indian counterpart Shiv Shankar Menon.

India and Pakistan are expected to tale up issues like terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir besides confidence building measures.

At the two-day talks, India will give evidence of Pakistani linkages to terrorist activities in this country, including the Mumbai blasts, and make it clear that Islamabad's commitment to fight the scourge will be tested on the ground.

On the eve of the parleys, Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri said a resolution to the vexed Siachen issue was a 'matter of days' given the political will.

The two sides are also expected to give shape to the joint anti-terror mechanism at the parleys, besides reviewing the progress of discussions on various outstanding issues like Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek.

Progress on finalisation of various confidence-building measures like reduction of nuclear risks is also expected at the talks. The two sides have already signed an Agreement on Pre-Notification of Flight Testing of Ballistic Missiles and are discussing a similar pact for cruise missiles.

Discussions are also expected on civilian CBMs like launch of truck service on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad route and starting a bus service between Kargil and Skardu (in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir).

There are at least 110 CBMs under discussion, mainly covering people-to-people contact.

The Foreign Secretary-level talks were slated to be held in July at the end of the third round of the composite dialogue but were postponed indefinitely by India after the serial blasts in Mumbai that were blamed on Pakistan's ISI and terror groups based there.