Sign in

'India, Pak should pull back troops from LoC'

Aziz suggests security should be handed over to the police, is unhappy with the progress of relations.

Updated on: Jan 4, 2006, 16:38:00 IST
PTI | By , Islamabad
Share
Share via
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
Copy link
  • copy link

Pakistan has suggested to India that both countries should pull back troops from the Line-of-Control to demilitarise the region and that the police should take over.

HT Image
HT Image

"Our suggestion is that both countries should pull back their troops and security should be maintained with the help of police and other organisations," Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said in an interview telecast on ARY TV on Tuesday.

He also said that the atmosphere between the two neighbours was improving but progress resolution was not up to the mark.

While the opening of five crossing points on the LoC, which was aimed at fostering contacts and interaction among Kashmiris, was a positive development, these points were not functioning as effectively as they should have, Aziz said.

He referred to his as well as President Pervez Musharraf's meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last year and said that various ideas were being discussed through back channel diplomacy which included proposals like self- governance and demilitarisation.

Pakistan has been reiterating self-governance and demilitarisation as its ideas to ease tensions along the LoC, specially in the aftermath of the October 8 earthquake, but has declined to elaborate and put them forward as proposals.

Indian officials continue to maintain that while Aziz mentioned these two "ideas" in his talks with Singh in Dhaka during the SAARC summit in November last year, Pakistan has not given a detailed proposal on it.

Get the latest headlines from US news and global updates from Pakistan, Nepal, UK, Bangladesh, Russia and US Iran war Live, get all the latest headlines in one place on Hindustan Times.