Inching forward on some steps agreed on at the last official meeting on nuclear CBMs in June, India and Pakistan today exchanged notes on nuclear risk reduction steps while agreeing to soon operationalise the hotline between the two foreign secretaries. In a separate meeting, both sides agreed to begin a joint survey of boundary pillars at Sir Creek from January 3 next year.Meera Shankar, additional secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs led the Indian delegation while Tariq Osman Hyder, her counterpart in Islamabad, headed the Pakistani side. According to the Indo-Pak joint statement issued today, the sides held detailed consultations, especially on the upgradation of the existing hotlines between the DGMOs and establishment of a dedicated and secure hotline between foreign secretaries of the two countries. Meanwhile, detailed technical discussions on Sir Creek issue resulted in an agreement on a joint survey of boundary pillars in the area from January 3.
