New Delhi, May 23
Pakistan today agreed to India’s suggestion to defer the first-ever talks between the two countries on nuclear confidence building measures (CBMs), scheduled for May 25 and 26. Foreign offices of the two countries made an announcement to this effect this afternoon.
Official sources told The Tribune that India had sought a brief postponement of these talks as the new government had just taken over. “What we are looking for is a very brief postponement of 10 to 14 days for talks on nuclear CBMs,” sources said.
Sources in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) here said the talks on nuclear CBMs would now be held shortly before the Foreign Secretaries of India and Pakistan meet here next month. It is understood that the Foreign Secretary-level talks would be held here in the first week of next month, though the exact dates were yet to be finalised. “The talks on nuclear CBMs will be held back-to-back with Foreign Secretary-level talks,” the sources said.
The talks on nuclear issue were deferred after the MEA got in touch with the Pakistan’s foreign office in Islamabad as well as its High Commission here. The MEA told Islamabad that since the new government was sworn in only last evening, it left very little time for New Delhi to hold talks on such a sensitive and important issue like nuclear CBMs.
The MEA communication to Islamabad was made this morning even before the ministerial portfolios were finalised and it was not known who the new External Affairs Minister would be. Diplomatic sources in Pakistan High Commission here told The Tribune that Islamabad perfectly understood New Delhi’s case for seeking a postponement.
