Originally published by the Voice of America (www.voanews.com).
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July 4, 2007

India, Pakistan End Talks on Security Issues
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http://enews.voanews.com/t?ctl=1808C14:A6F02AD83191E160BB22C6540426A1B89574F7DCC14957C0 Countries agree to
exchange civilian prisoners as they wrap up latest round of talks in
New Delhi India and Pakistan have agreed to exchange civilian
prisoners as they wrapped up their latest round of talks on security
issues in New Delhi. As Anjana Pasricha reports from the Indian
capital, the talks are part of a three-year-old peace process by the
South Asian rivals.







Pakistan Home Secretary Sayed Kamal Shah (L) shakes hands with his
Indian counterpart Madhukar Gupta during talks in New Delhi, 03 Jul
2007After a day of talks between their home secretaries, India and
Pakistan said they will release all detained fishermen from the other
country. Both countries have detained fisherman from the other after
they strayed across maritime borders.

The two countries also said Wednesday they will speed up the release
of civilian prisoners languishing in each other's jails.

Since initiating the peace process, the two countries have swapped
civilian prisoners on several occasions to encourage peace moves.

The talks were to conclude Wednesday, but ended earlier than scheduled
as Pakistan's Home Secretary Syed Kamal Shah returned to Islamabad
following violent clashes between Pakistani troops and students at a
mosque.

Terrorism was also on the agenda at the talks, but observers say there
appears to have been little progress on the issue.

India raised its concerns relating to terrorism, and it was agreed
"that effective and sustained measures would be taken to combat the
menace."

But independent political analyst Prem Shankar Jha called this a
"routine incantation". He says there is little to satisfy concerns in
New Delhi, which says there has been a spurt in infiltration by
Islamic militants into Indian Kashmir from Pakistan.

"The immediate short-term problem is that there has been a rise in
infiltration in Kashmir since the beginning of April, really, and that
has been worrying people here ... so maybe in this context we wanted
to get a reiteration from Pakistan, and what has come out is very
bland," he said.

The security talks are part of a larger peace process begun three
years ago. It has helped defuse tensions between the rivals, but there
is little substantial progress on core issues, such as Kashmir, which
are the source of their decades long animosity. Both countries claim
the Himalayan region that is divided between them.

Political analyst Jha says the peace process appears to have slowed
down somewhat in recent months, partly due to domestic political
troubles that Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf faces.


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