US embassy cable - 05NEWDELHI35

C O N F I D E N T I A L NEW DELHI 000035 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/03/2015 
TAGS: PREL, KNNP, ENRG, IN, PK, INDO-PAK 
SUBJECT: INDIA UPBEAT ON PAKISTAN COMPOSITE DIALOGUE 
 
REF: ISLAMABAD 002 
 
Classified By: Ambassador David Mulford,  Reasons 1.4 (B,D). 
 
1. (C) Indian readouts track closely with Islamabad's 
detailed and generally positive assessment of the December 
27-28 meeting of Foreign Secretaries that concluded the 
second round of the Indo-Pak Composite Dialogue (reftel).  In 
a January 3 meeting with the Ambassador, Foreign Secretary 
Saran remarked on the "excellent atmosphere" of the December 
meeting, adding that the Islamabad talks were "absolutely 
free of acrimony" and "very friendly."  Although Saran sensed 
continued ambivalence on the Pakistani side about the 
relative priority of confidence building and Kashmir within 
the Composite Dialogue, he took encouragement from the fact 
that the two sides agreed on a series of steps forward. 
 
2. (C) Enumerating specific deliverables from the December 
meetings, Saran flagged the following: 
 
-- commitment to the immediate consular notification of 
civilian detainees which will avoid the current situation in 
which official notification is not provided and citizenship 
is not confirmed until the indictment phase of criminal 
proceedings; 
 
-- agreement on the informal "push back" of Kashmiris, 
especially children, who wander across the LOC.  This will be 
accomplished without any kind of legal delay; 
 
-- an accord for regular meetings of local military 
commanders along the LOC; 
 
-- conclusion of a calendar for official meetings that will 
run through August/September 2005; 
 
-- Pakistan's proposal to open up religious shrines (which 
Saran lauded as "an important development"); 
 
-- and "progress" on pre-notification of missile tests. 
Saran said the two sides "narrowed differences considerably" 
and should be able to sign a final agreement in "one or a 
few" more rounds. 
 
3. (C) Saran was similarly upbeat about his meetings with 
Foreign Minister Kasuri and  Prime Minister Aziz.  Asked 
about transit rights to Afghanistan, Saran reported that the 
issue came up in the context of the Iran gas pipeline. 
Responding to Prime Minister Aziz's point about the economic 
benefits of the pipeline, Saran observed that all these 
arguments also apply to other goods that could be moved 
through Pakistan to/from Afghanistan.  Saran also noted 
Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyer's invitation to his 
Pakistani counterpart for talks in New Delhi on energy trade, 
and indicated that he had urged Islamabad to respond 
favorably to this Indian proposal. 
 
4. (C) Comment: Saran referred briefly to the January 3 death 
of NSA (and back channel envoy) JN Dixit -- warning this 
would leave a "gaping hole" in India's foreign policy 
line-up.  Although Indo-Pak relations are too important in 
Indian domestic politics to be controlled by any single 
individual, Dixit's passing cannot help the process of 
rapprochement.  With this fact in mind, septel will offer a 
more detailed MEA assessment of where the Composite Dialogue 
process now stands. End Comment. 
MULFORD