An Indian defence delegation holds talks with its Pakistan counterparts on Sir Creek in Islamabad on Thursday, said an official statement. Maj-Gen M. Gopal Rao, Surveyor General of India, will lead the Indian delegation at the two-day talks to be held at the Ministry of Defence. Rear Admiral Tanveer Faiz, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Defence, will lead the Pakistan delegation. In the light of the recently carried out joint survey, the delegations of the two countries will deliberate for resolution of Sir Creek boundary. The 20-day joint survey of Sir Creek by hydrographers from India and Pakistan formally began in January this year. The survey was conducted on land and off the coast to verify the outermost points of the coastline based on the principle of equidistance. On March 22, the Pakistani and Indian hydrographers met at the Wagah border between Pakistan and India and exchanged maps generated by their surveys. After the exchange, officials from both sides said that they had differences on the maps. However, it was later announced that both sides had found points of convergence on the maps, thereby raising hope for a solution. Agreement on a map will be the first concrete step towards demarcating the disputed boundary. Talks on the demarcation of the Sir Creek boundary have been taking place since 1969, but without resolution. Sir Creek is a 60-mile-long estuary in the marshes of the Rann of Kutch separating Indian Gujarat from Pakistan s Sindh province. Pakistan claims ownership over all of Sir Creek, with its eastern bank defined by a green line on a 1914 map. India, however, maintains that the green line is merely indicative, insisting that the boundary should be defined by the Creek s mid-channel as shown on a 1925 map.
