Nation & States 

Foreign secretaries strike a positive note, agree 
to strengthen embassies

What is India News Service, June 25, 2004, 1630 hrs

Peace prospects in the subcontinent looked brighter as foreign secretaries of India and Pakistan met in Delhi and discussed a wide range of subjects, including terrorism and troop reduction.

At the end of a three-hour meeting, the neighbours issued a joint statement on raising the staff strength of high commissions and reopening consulates. They are discussing Kashmir on Monday, and are expected to announce a calendar to sort out such issues as Siachen and Sir Creek.

For the first time in recent history, the foreign secretaries met with guns silent along the Line of Control (LoC). The ceasefire, agreed to between the two countries on November 26 last year, continues to hold.

Meanwhile, both factions of the Hurriyat Conference hailed the Pakistani remark that Kashmiris were a party central to the Kashmir dispute. The Ansari-led faction said words should be followed by deeds.

Describing the UN resolutions on Kashmir as the "best possible" solution, chairman of breakaway faction Syed Ali Shah Geelani welcomed the Pakistani statement as "realistic and according to ground realities".

New PM for Pakistan: After only 20 months in office, Zafarullah Khan Jamali today resigned as prime minister, bring to surface strained relations with president Musharraf. He has nominated his party PML-Q president Chaudhury Shujat Hussain to succeed him.  Officials said the change of guard would not affect India-Pakistan peace talks. 

Kashmir killings: Militants massacred 12 people in Poonch district, Jammu and Kashmir, a day ahead of the India-Pakistan foreign secretaries\92 meeting in New Delhi.

A group of heavily armed militants in army uniforms entered the village late on Friday night and asked village defence committee members and their families to come out of their houses. Mistaking the militants for security personnel, they left their homes, only to be lined up in a field nearby and executed in cold blood. The victims included two women, two children and an 80-year-old man.

Two militants were killed in an encounter with security forces near a mosque in south Kashmir on Saturday. The incident occurred near Sugan village, where the Indian Railways engineer Sudhir Kumar and his brother Sandeep were kidnapped and killed by ultras the previous day.

Security forces had cordoned off Littar village. When the militants saw troops arriving, they entered a mosque. The ultras opened fire injuring a security man. Security forces said they had immediately rescued the women in the mosque. The militants tried to take advantage of the rescue mission and flee. 

Bihar downsizing: Eight ministers, five of cabinet rank and the others junior, have resigned to help chief minister Rabri Devi downsize her ministry in accordance with the 91st Constitutional Amendment.

Overall:

Secretaries struck a positive note: India and Pakistan began talking and the vibes were good.

Pakistan PM quit: Jamali's tussle with president Musharaff ended with his putting in his papers.

Militants killed 12: They came dressed in military fatigues and massacred members of a village defence committee in Kashmir.

Ministers helped Rabri Devi along: Eight have resigned, saying they want the chief minister to downsize to help her adhere to a Constitutional amendment.