Islamabad, Delhi resolve issues on IPI gas project

NEW DELHI (Agencies) - India and Pakistan on Friday said they had resolved all bilateral commercial issues impeding implementation of the $7.4 billion gas pipeline from Iran and will jointly address Tehran's demand for price revision. Both countries decided to hold Foreign Secretary levels talks in New Delhi FROM July 21 to 22 to launch the fifth round of their more than four-year old Composite Dialogue. The decision came at a meeting between Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. While both Mukherjee and Qureshi, who arrived in India earlier Friday for a three-day visit, did say there had been some progress in the previous meeting, the Pakistani Foreign Minister said he had urged his Indian host "to give serious thought to outstanding issues that need serious consideration." "I am happy to report that as far as Pakistan and India are concerned, we have resolved all bilateral issues. There is no issue whatsoever that needs to be addressed now," visiting Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who is on a three-day visit to India, said at a joint Press conference with his Indian counterpart Pranab Mukherjee after wide-ranging talks and a brief meeting with Petroleum Minister Murli Deora. He said Pakistan wanted India to join IPI gas project as it was beneficial for both energy-starved countries. Describing the project as doable, he said both the countries were paying huge subsidies on account of energy. "Transit fee is a small issue. We have reached an agreement on the principles of charging transit fee. India remains fully committed to the project," Deora said. Oil Secretaries of the two countries will now meet, as early as July 1 in Madrid, to evolve a strategy to deal with Iran's insistence on a price revision clause in rates already agreed by the three nations. Qureshi, who also holds additional charge of oil ministry, said that his country had no issues with India's demand that Iran hand over custody of gas at the India-Pakistan border and not at Iran-Pakistan border, as had been suggested by Tehran, to cut transit risk through Pakistan. On security of the pipeline and the safe passage of gas, which has been the prime concern of New Delhi, he said, "Pakistan will address the security issue and provide fool-proof security." The Minister touted a cross-border deal bringing gas from Iran to India as a "pipeline of peace". "It can be a pipeline of peace and new bondage," Qureshi said. "The IPI (Iran-Pakistan-India) gas pipeline is to our mutual benefit. Both sides stand to gain." "We are hopeful that it will be possible to resolve this issue both from technical, commercial and all aspects," India's Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said. Qureshi said the political environment in both the countries was "right" to make the peace process "result-oriented". "We are looking forward to his visit to Islamabad," Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said. Addressing the Press conference, Pranab Mukherjee announced that Pakistan chapter of Pak-India judicial committee will visit Indian jails next month. Shah Mahmood Qureshi said environment was conductive to resolving outstanding issues and the people of both the countries support the peace process. All political players in Pakistan and India were also supportive of the peace process, he added. The Foreign Minister said the secretary-level talks would discuss Kashmir and other issues. The issues of Siachen and Sir Creek were resolvable, he said. Qureshi said his country and India needed "to seize the opportunity" and start getting concrete results from their slow-moving peace process. He said there was a "virtual consensus" on the peace process and that "we should not miss on this opportunity". "We must seize this opportunity, we have the right environment," Qureshi said. "Governments have to show political will and they have to give leadership" to resolve these issues, he said, adding that political parties in both countries were supportive of the peace process. The two ministers expressed common resolve to take the peace process forward. To a question on the issue of death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh, he said his case was under consideration. Referring to the ceasefire and confidence-buildings measures, Qureshi said Pakistan wanted maintenance of ceasefire on the Line of Control besides more confidence-building measures. The working groups of both the countries will review implementation status of such CBMs. When asked about security in Peshawar, he said the northwestern provincial capital is absolutely secure. Pakistan has adopted three-pronged strategy to counter terrorism including dialogue with those who are against terrorism, economic and social development of the area and use of force as the last resort. Referring to the issue of prisoners, he said it had been brought to Pakistan's notice that there was mishandling of prisoners and these cases had been published in Pakistani. The Foreign Minister, in his opening remarks at the Press conference, said he had come to India with positive mind and realistic agenda. He urged that serious thought should be given to resolving outstanding issues. "I have come as a representative of democratic government and coalition partners. The region has huge potential which can be exploited if peace, and stability is there." He said Pakistan wanted liberal visa regime, people to people contacts and economic cooperation. Indian Minister External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee spoke about the threat posed by terrorism and said both the countries have to be "unambiguous" in fighting the menace. "Terrorism is a threat to the stability of our respective democratic frameworks. Whatever be our political differences, we have to be unambiguous in addressing terrorist threats," Mukherjee said. The next talks have been scheduled for July 21 and diplomats from the two sides will try to address the impasse over the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told reporters. "It is our expectation that the 5th Round of this process, to be launched in July, will be even more fruitful than the earlier rounds." The Joint Anti-Terror Mechanism also met in Islamabad recently and the discussions in that meeting were constructive, Mukherjee said. He said India was committed to peace, friendship and good neighbourly relations with Pakistan and to develop these relations in an atmosphere free from violence or the threat to use violence. "Such an atmosphere has to be positively promoted," he said. The resurgence of democracy and popular participation in Pakistan was a positive factor for bilateral relationship and indeed for the whole region, Mukherjee said. The scope for cooperation was immense and covers all fields, he said, adding India hoped that in the Fifth Round of the Composite Dialogue, concrete achievements would continue and pave the way for a qualitative transformation of bilateral relations. Pranab Mukherjee said that peace and security, confidence-building measures and Jammu and Kashmir were to be discussed during the Indo-Pak dialogue in next round of talks from 21st July. He also emphasised that India-Pakistan-Iran gas pipeline would be a "pipeline of peace and new bondage". Mukherjee said India hoped the fifth round "to be launched in July, will be even more fruitful than the earlier rounds."

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