New Delhi, December 3
On the eve of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s departure to Nigeria for the CHOGM summit, India today announced another confidence building measure vis a vis Pakistan by proposing the establishment of communication links between the Indian Coast Guard and the Pakistan Maritime Security Agency (MSA).
Sources said people-to-people contacts between the two countries had picked up momentum to such an extent that a large number of visa applications had piled up in the two countries’ missions during the past 10 days. In view of these developments, some major confidence building measures were in the pipeline which would be announced “at a suitable time”, they said.
It is understood that these measures will be announced few day before the Prime Minister’s scheduled departure for Islamabad to attend the SAARC summit.
So far, the signals are positive and it is reflected by the fact that the 8-day-old ceasefire between two countries is holding well.
India has also suggested to Pakistan that flag meetings can be held at sea before and after the fishing season. Flag meetings are proposed to be held every six months in April and September. The Government of India has conveyed details for implementing the above proposals to Pakistan. It has been proposed that Director/Deputy Director (Operations) at the Indian Coast Guard Headquarters can establish communication links with their counterparts in Pakistan’s Maritime Security Agency Headquarters with effect from January 1.
The communication links will cover matters related to humanitarian aspects concerning fishermen of both countries and issues arising out of the operational situation confronted by both agencies.
