Pakistan, India discuss Sir Creek boundary dispute

May 21, 2011, 15:10 GMT

Islamabad - Pakistan and India Saturday concluded talks to aimed at resolving a land boundary dispute and the delimitation of the maritime boundary in adjacent waters.

The long-standing dispute over the boundary at Sir Creek hinges in the actual demarcation of the 96-kilometre strip of water in the Rann of Kutch marshlands, which divides India's Gujarat state and Pakistan's and Sindh province.

The talks were headed by India's Surveyor General Subba Rao and Pakistan's Defence Secretary Syed Athar Ali.

'Both sides exchanged non-papers in order to take their discussions forward, with a view to finding an amicable settlement of the issue,' the officials said in a joint statement.

The two sides also agreed to another round of talks.

The two-day meeting was part of talks that resumed early this year following a suspension in the wake of the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai, India which killed over 166 people. India blamed the Pakistan-based Lahskar-e-Toiba group for the attack.

Sir Creek, located in the uninhabited region, opens into the Arabian Sea where the international maritime boundary is unmarked.

The area is believed to have rich oil and mineral reserves.

The dispute is one of several contentious issues between the two nuclear armed neighbors, including Kashmir which has caused two out of three wars between them.

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