Army's Northern Command Chief Lt Gen B S Jaswal on Thursday remained unruffled by the Chinese action denying him a visa that fuelled a diplomatic row with India but said it reflected their "predilection".
The United Progressive Alliance government has ordered the redeployment of troops in Jammu and Kashmir to plug gaps in security along the border and the Line of Control. According to a television report, the move is being seen as a confidence building measure ahead of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the state later this month.
China said on Friday that it wanted cordial relations with India as its Ambassador Zhang Yan met Bharatiya Janata Party President Rajnath Singh in an effort to reach out to the main opposition party amid a war of words between the two countries.
Arrangements for initiating trade across Line of Control and its infrastructural logistics are being given final touches ahead of a formal announcement expected following the meeting between the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session.
Official sources said the prisoners, including 10 fishermen, will be handed over to Pakistani authorities at the Attari-Wagah border.
The government is taking various steps, including provision of accomodation.
'It appears that the GoI got all that it wanted from this deal. All future options are open, both with respect to bombs and electricity. India even got assured USG support for fuel if it resumes nuclear testing.'
The meeting of the Working Group on cross-Line of Control CBMs made several decisions that will be announced when the foreign secretaries meet in New Delhi during July 21-22 to launch the fifth round of the composite dialogue, official sources told PTI.
Pakistan is doing another confidence building measure with India by permitting import of cotton from the neighbouring country through Wagah border.
The US has said that this is not the appropriate moment for India and Pakistan to hold discussions on the Kashmir issue, as they need to go for confidence building measures first.
The proposal, which came from the Jammu and Kashmir government, will do away with cumbersome and time-consuming procedures under which applications for travel get delayed for months together.
Pakistan may raise the demand for demilitarisation in Jammu and Kashmir, but India is clear that such a step can be taken only when terrorism ends in the state.
Pakistan does not want another war with India over Kashmir, Defence Minister Chaudhry Ahmed Mukhtar said while describing the current status of bilateral relations as the "best" the two countries had ever had.
The composite dialogue between India and Pakistan will resume on May 21 and the two countries will review progress made so far in confidence-building measures, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said on Wednesday. "We will review the results of the fourth round of talks (under the composite dialogue) and then plan the agenda for the fifth round to be held after this meeting," Qureshi said.
"We have to constantly upgrade our military and economic capabilities," the minister told army commanders while referring to relations with China as he opened the five-day top army commanders bi-annual conference in Delhi. His remarks are significant as the minister has just undertaken a major tour of the Sino-Indian frontier in Arunachal Pradesh.
The compulsory peer reviews of auditors' notes for Sensex and Nifty companies for Q3 results of the last fiscal and full-year results of 2007-08 have proved a virtual non-starter, owing to confusion over its scope and the appointment of auditors.
The question of fencing of the 4095 kilometre-long border between the two countries remained unresolved with Bangladesh resisting the move.
"We favour scaling up the military-to-military ties with India and as part of the efforts the two countries are holding talks for joint military exercise between the air forces," Chinese Defence Attache in New Delhi Li Chao told PTI. If talks are successful, the Chinese official said the exercise between the two air forces could be held next year.
The agreed text of the proposed agreement on pre-notification of the tests will be referred to the foreign secretaries of the two countries for formalisation, Shankar said after the talks with Pakistan's additional secretary.
An image of the Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries in New Delhi.
India and Pakistan are expected to tale up issues like terrorism and Jammu and Kashmir besides confidence building measures.
India and China have agreed to maintain peace and tranquillity in the border areas which was a "pre-requisite" for continued growth of bilateral relations as also to enhance cooperation in key areas, including counter-terrorism, maritime security and civil nuclear energy sector.
Opposing peace move with Pakistan until it acts against terror groups operating from its soil, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Tuesday decided to build public opinion against the confidence-building measures with Islamabad.
As India and Pakistan gear up to hold the second meeting of their joint anti-terror mechanism, a security expert on Tuesday suggested that the Inter-Services Intelligence be roped in to tackle the menace.
During the meeting, India is likely to raise the issue of the recent Hyderabad blasts with Pakistan.
The DG said that large number of fishermen from both countries had difficulties in identifying the maritime boundary.
India, Pak officials exchange ideas to promote nuclear CBMs
They also emphasised the centrality of the UN in promotion of international peace, favoured independence and sovereignty of Iraq, political and economic reconstruction in Afghanistan and expressed concern over situation in West Asia.
The commission will tour Pondicherry on March 27 and Tamil Nadu on March 28 and 29 to review preparations.
The two foreign ministers differed over kashmir, but said the ceasefire on the LoC would continue.
The decision to hold joint exercises comes as a follow up of two countries claiming 'substantial and satisfactory' progress in discussions on joint services issue.
The meeting of the working group on cross-Line of Control CBMs, earlier scheduled to be held on July 10, was postponed as Joint Secretary T C A Raghavan, who was to lead the Indian delegation, rushed to the Afghan capital after the suicide attack on the Indian embassy there on Monday last that killed 58 people.
"We have to look out of the box... we have to look at innovative ways of resolution (to the Kashmir issue). We have our minds open to such issues," Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Friday while delivering a lecture at the Brookings Institution.
