India on Sunday said it wanted to strengthen its "good" relations with Pakistan, but ruled out any immediate withdrawal of troops from the Indo-Pak border.
"We have good relations with Pakistan. Both India and Pakistan are holding expert level talks on nuclear confidence building measures. Foreign secretary-level talks are scheduled later," Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at a 'Meet-the Press' programme in Kolkata.
Asked if India was considering withdrawal of troops from the Indo-Pak border, Mukherjee said, "There is no such proposal as yet."
He said the ceasefire with Pakistan will, however, continue.
Saying that no deadline had yet been fixed on the test fire of the surface-to-surface missile 'Agni-III', he pointed out that the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) was still working on it.
"This has different stages. It is difficult to say what will happen when," he said.
Mukherjee said the decision to have a dedicated and secure hotline between India and Pakistan at the foreign secretary level would enable better communication between the two countries on the nuclear issue.
Mukherjee did not give a direct reply when asked if the government had plans to release a white paper on the war in Kargil.
"The Subramaniam Committee was set up after the war and it has submitted a report. Then, a Group of Ministers was formed and it has also submitted a report. Besides, as a matter of excercise after a war, the Army also prepared an internal report which is in effect an analysis of the war highlighting its failures and successes," he said.
Denying that India was putting up barbed wire fencing on the 'no-man's land' along its border with Bangladesh, he said that the fencing was being erected fully in keeping with the international laws to protect the Indian border.
He said that fencings were also being erected along India's borders with Pakistan in Punjab, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir.
To a question, Mukherjee said that the Centre had not yet taken any decision to create a post of Chief of Defence Staff.
"The earlier government had formed a Group of Ministers and it had given a view on the matter. Our
government is yet to take a view," he said.
Asked whether West Bengal was likely to have some defence establishments during his tenure, Mukherjee pointed out that the Cossipore Gun and Shell factory, a 200-year-old establishment, was located in the state besides the Icchapur Rifle Factory and the smaller establishments at Dum Dum and Barrackpore.
The defence minister said that some areas of defence production had been privatised and more areas would be opened as and when necessary.
