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Pakistan, India nearing solution on Sir Creek

* Agreement on map between Pak-India hydrographers first step to ending dispute
* Issue to be discussed in May 21 talks

By Sajjad Malik

ISLAMABAD: Ongoing talks between Pakistan and India have made considerable progress towards resolving the contentious Sir Creek issue, reliable diplomatic sources told Daily Times on Friday.

“Of the eight issues being discussed by India and Pakistan within the framework of the composite dialogue process since 2004, tangible progress has been made on the issue of Sir Creek,” they said.

They said that Pakistan had claimed ownership of the entire Sir Creek, with its eastern bank defined by a ‘green line’ on a 1914 map. However, India maintains that the green line is merely indicative, insisting that the boundary should be defined by the Creek’s ‘mid-channel’, as shown on a 1925 map.

The diplomats said progress towards determining the final status of the marshland had been made possible by a 20-day joint survey of Sir Creek by hydrographers from both India and Pakistan. This survey, which began in January 2007, was conducted both on land and off the coast to verify the outermost points of the coastline based on the principle of equidistance.

The hydrographers exchanged their maps at Wagah Border on March 22. Following the exchange, officials from both sides said that they had differences on the maps. It was later announced that both sides had found points of convergence on their maps, thereby raising hopes for a solution.

Map agreement: “Agreement on the map was the first concrete step towards ending the dispute,” the sources said, adding that former Foreign minister Khurshid Kasuri had once indicated that both Sir Creek and Siachen could be solved within days.

The sources said that the issue would come under discussion during the one-day ministerial level Pak-Indian talks on May 21. “Sir Creek will be discussed in the ministers’ meeting for the first time after May 2007,” the sources said, adding ‘political will’ would be key to solving the issue.

Talks on the demarcation of the Sir Creek have been taking place since 1969 without a resolution. Sir Creek is a 60-mile-long estuary in the marshes of the Rann of Kutch, separating Indian Gujarat from the Sindh province.

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