Pak for non-deployment of ballistic missile system

Pakistan is pushing for the signing a pact for the "non-deployment of ballistic missile system" targeting each other as a major confidence building measure (CBM) between the two counties ahead of the foreign ministers meet later this month.

Pakistan is pushing for the signing a pact for the "non-deployment of ballistic missile system" targeting each other as a major confidence building measure (CBM) between the two counties ahead of the foreign ministers meet later this month.

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Not keen to bite the bullet, India argues that this issue cannot be restricted to the India-Pakistan context, but should be placed in the larger South Asian security framework (that includes China) that New Delhi has to deal with.

However, CBMs such as finalisation of a border ground rules, return of inadvertent crossers, exchange of commandants between the national defence college and national defence university of Pakistan, and meetings between director general coast guard and his Pakistan counterpart and exchange of military bands are among the expected outcomes of the meeting between the two ministers.

Senior Indian government sources told HT that the pact for signing the non-deployment of ballistic missile system has been raised by Pakistan for some time now. "When the two foreign secretaries met in Islamabad last month also this issue came up", said a senior official.

New Delhi says that its ballistic missile system cannot be seen through the context of India-Pakistan and it has a larger South Asia security framework, explained the official.

"A step by step approach is what we have been following to address the trust deficit between the two sides. And we are discussing all the issues of mutual interests", an official explained.

India has very serious concerns over infiltration which foreign secretary Nirupama Rao too took up with his Pakistan counterpart Salman Bashir when they met in Islamabad last month.

“But the ceasefire between two countries by and large remains. So we need to build on that”, said the official.

In that context comes finalisatioan of border ground rules. This will be guidelines for both the sides to go about in case of an incident, instead of the situation getting "flared up."

There are many incidents of people accidently straying into each other's territory. So both the sides are trying to put in place a mechanism so that the inadvertent crossers are sent across.