India, Pakistan consider demilitarizing Kashmir border

2011-12-28 08:17:18 GMT+7 (ICT)

ISLAMABAD (BNO NEWS) -- The governments of Pakistan and India are considering a proposal to demilitarize the border of the disputed region of Kashmir, according to media reports on Tuesday.

A senior Pakistani foreign ministry official told The Express Tribune that Pakistan has proposed the redeployment of heavy weaponry along the Line of Control (LoC), the de facto border that divides the Pakistani and Indian-administered regions of Kashmir. "We (Pakistan) have proposed to redeploy artillery and mortar 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) away from the LoC," the official said on condition of anonymity.

The proposal is an effort by both countries to demilitarize the disputed Himalayan region, where in the past the two sides often exchanged fire, leaving hundreds killed. The official added, however, that discussions on the proposal were in their initial stages and no major breakthrough is expected during the ongoing round of talks.

The suggestion is part of several other proposals being discussed at the two-day talks in Islamabad between senior officials from the two sides on conventional and nuclear confidence building measures (CBMs). The talks, part of the peace process, resumed earlier this year after India had halted the talks following the 2008 attacks in Mumbai.

Although cross-border attacks in Kashmir are now a rarity because of a ceasefire the two countries agreed to in 2003, fatal firing incidents still occur.

A guerrilla war has been going on in India-administered Kashmir between militants, who have been blamed for attacks, and the Indian troops, who have been accused of rights abuses. The Indian government says more than 45,000 people - including civilians, militants and troops - have died in the region over the past two decades.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-12-28

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