INDO-PAKISTAN TALKS ON DRUGS, TERRORISM BEGIN TODAY

ISLAMABAD, Aug 9: Pakistan and India will hold two days of talks here from
Tuesday on terrorism and drug trafficking, after a gap of six years.

Talking to Dawn here on Monday, Interior Ministry spokesman Chaudhry Abdul
Rauf said the Indian delegation headed by Home Secretary Dhirendra Singh
would arrive here on Tuesday.

Interior Secretary Tariq Mehmud will lead the Pakistani delegation. The
spokesman said officials of the interior ministries of the two countries had
met about six years ago and they were meeting now under the composite
dialogue process.

Responding to a question about the possibility of cooperation between the
two sides in the war against terrorism, the spokesman said it could be
possible but a final decision in this regard would be made after the
meeting.

The two sides, he said, would also discuss drug trafficking as both the
countries had been suffering from this menace for a long time. "As we have
common border we both want to eliminate drug smuggling," he added.

Talks on economic and commercial cooperation will be held from August 11 to
12. Pakistan's delegation will be led by Commerce Secretary Tasneem Noorani
and the Indian delegation by their Commerce Secretary Deepak Chatterji.

Mr Chatterji arrived in Lahore on Monday, our staff reporter adds from
Lahore. Talking to journalists at the Lahore airport, he said that an
increase in direct trade between the two countries would benefit both the
countries. At present, it was being conducted via third countries and was
unnecessarily costly.

Both countries needed to avoid extra costs in trade, he added. Responding to
a question, he said trade could prove to be an important tool in improving
relations between the two countries.

There were no authentic figures available regarding trade and smuggling
between the two countries and it needed to be formalized. Mr Chatterji said
increased direct trade could also help both the nations to control smuggling
in an effective manner.

Both countries are fighting for their rights in international forums like
the World Trade Organization and could join hands to strengthen their stand.
The Indian secretary expressed the hope that he would hold positive and
fruitful talks with the business community in Lahore on Tuesday. He would
leave for Islamabad in the evening.

Mr Chatterji said fears that bilateral trade and the Safta agreement could
lead to Indian domination in the regional market were baseless. "The signing
of the Indo-Lanka Free Trade Agreement has led to a three-time increase in
the Sri Lankan exports to India," he maintained. He said the Safta accord
would be of benefit to all Saarc countries.