ISLAMABAD (Islamweb & Agencies) - Pakistan on Monday turned down an Indian proposal that their senior military officers meet on Tuesday and said such a contact could be made only after the July 14-16 summit between the two nuclear-capable rivals.
A foreign ministry spokesman, quoted by state-run Radio Pakistan, said Pakistan's position on the matter had been conveyed to India by Islamabad's High Commissioner (ambassador) in New Delhi.
Earlier on Monday, Pakistani state media quoted an unnamed official spokesman as saying Pakistan had not received any proposal from India that its Director General of Military Operations (DGMO) visit Islamabad on Tuesday for talks on promoting peace between the two countries.
But Radio Pakistan reported at night the proposal was conveyed when the Pakistani High Commissioner was called to the Indian Foreign Ministry later on Monday.
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It has meanwhile been reported that the Indian DGMO had also contacted his Pakistani counterpart on a telephone hot line at 5:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) on Monday.
New Delhi proposed a meeting between the two generals on Friday ahead of a July 14-16 summit between Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf where the Kashmir dispute is likely to be the key issue, the report said. (Read photo caption below).
It said the two generals would take stock of the situation along the Line of Control and the Actual Ground Position Line in the disputed Kashmir region.
But Radio Pakistan quoted the Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman as saying India had been informed that ``discussion on military issues relating to the Line of Control will flow from the forthcoming Pakistan-India summit rather than precede it.''
The Line of Control refers to the cease-fire line in Kashmir drawn up after the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war. The Actual Ground Position Line refers to the frontier in the Saltoro mountain range where troops of the two countries are locked in confrontation in the Siachen region, a 47-mile glacier and the world's highest battlefield.
The Indian radio report said Pakistan was demanding that India pull back from the Saltoro ridge and that India said a cease-fire was possible only after a detailed mapping of the military position on both sides.
New Delhi frequently accuses Islamabad of aiding about a dozen Resistance groups fighting Indian rule in Kashmir, a charge Pakistan denies. More than 30,000 people have died since rebellion began in 1989.
PHOTO CAPTION:
The view of the frontier from the Indian-ruled border town of Kargil, in northern most Jammu and Kashmir, is seen Wednesday, June 19, 2001. Poor Kargil villagers, many of whom have been unable to repair their houses two years after the mini-war, are hoping that India and Pakistan move forward in making peace during the upcoming visit of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)