With Pakistan having accepted dates suggested by India, the next meeting between foreign secretaries of the two countries, signalling the second round of the Composite Dialogue process, will be held on December 23 and 24. The two officials will also discuss confidence-building measures, including Jammu and Kashmir, and peace and security.The venue, however, is yet to be finalised. ‘‘We need to confirm where the talks will be held,’’ Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson said at Islamabad, while accepting the proposed dates, today.The meeting of foreign secretaries will also frame schedule for official-level talks on other issues in the composite dialogue. The issues are related to Siachen, Wullar Barrage, Sir Creek, terrorism and drug trafficking and economic cooperation.Meanwhile, the meeting between narcotics officials, that was slated to start today, has been postponed to mid-December. The meeting of committee of experts, on trade-related issues, that was slated for December 9 and 10, too has been postponed. These were a part of dates set for talks on some CBMs proposed by either side. With the postponement of the meeting between narcotics officials, the first meeting would now start on the Khokrapar-Munabao rail service between Railway authorities on both sides on December 2-3 at Islamabad. This will be followed by a meeting of Coast Guard officials on December 3-4 in New Delhi. Talks to resolve differences on starting the bus service between Sringar and Muzaffarabad will be held on December 7-8 in New Delhi, and will be followed a week later by expert-level talks on nuclear and conventional CBMs on December 14. A joint survey of boundary pillars in Sir Creek is also slated for around the same time.
