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India, Pakistan Agree on Missile Test Notification By Mike Nartker WASHINGTON — India and Pakistan agreed today to develop a formal system for the advance notification of missile flight tests conducted by the two nuclear-armed rivals (see GSN, June 22). The agreement was reached during two days of talks that ended today in New Delhi between Indian Foreign Secretary Shashank and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Khokhar. During the talks, the two officials agreed to have expert-level delegations develop a draft agreement on establishing a pretest notification system, according to a joint statement. Advance notification of missile tests was one of a set of nuclear confidence-building measures recommended during expert-level talks held earlier this month between India and Pakistan. While India and Pakistan now provide each other with informal advance notification of their missile tests, experts have said that a formal prenotification system would improve the confidence the two countries place in the information they receive. The agreement on advance notification of missile tests was an attempt by India and Pakistan to “keep the image” of moving forward with peace talks without making progress on more substantial issues, Husain Haqqani, a South Asian expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, said today. The two countries have little to fear from a ballistic missile strike by one another, Haqqani said, adding that the threat of “subconventional warfare,” such as cross-border terrorism, was more likely. The two foreign secretaries also agreed today on several measures intended to help improve relations, such as an increase in embassy staff levels, an agreement “in principle” to re-establish consulates in the Indian city of Mumbai and the Pakistani city of Karachi, and the immediate release of all apprehended fishermen in each other’s custody. The talks were held as part of a peace dialogue launched by India and Pakistan early this year with the hope of resolving many of their bilateral issues, chiefly the dispute over the Kashmir region, over which the countries have twice gone to war. Shashank and Khokhar discussed Kashmir and agreed to “continue the sustained and serious dialogue to find a peaceful negotiated final settlement,” according to the joint statement. Both sides praised the talks, according to reports. “There is a new spirit of engaging each other consistently and substantively,” Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan was quoted by the Associated Press as saying. As for India, AP quoted External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh as saying that the talks involved “positive discussions and concrete outcomes.” The two foreign secretaries also agreed today that a set of talks would be held next month and in the first half of August on a number of other issues, including terrorism, drug trafficking and economic cooperation. In addition, the two officials pledged to personally meet in the third week of August to review the progress made in the dialogue and to prepare for a meeting of the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers, to be held soon after. During the talks, Khokhar conveyed to Shashank invitations to visit Islamabad from Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President Abdul Kalam and ruling Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi.
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