India, Pakistan discuss Sir Creek; no headway

New Delhi, June 19 (IANS) India and Pakistan Tuesday wrapped up their two-day talks on the Sir Creek marshlands without much headway, but agreed on finding "an amicable solution" to finalise the land and maritime boundary in the disputed area.

"The two sides discussed the land boundary in the Sir Creek area and also delimitation of International Maritime Boundary between India and Pakistan," said a joint statement after the talks.

"They reiterated their desire to find an amicable solution of the Sir Creek issue through sustained and result oriented dialogue," said the statement.

During the talks, the Indian delegation was led by Surveyor General of India Swarna Subba Rao and the Pakistani side was led by Rear Admiral Farrokh Ahmad, additional secretary in the ministry of defence. The Pakistan delegation also met Shekhar Agarwal, additional secretary in India's defence ministry.

The next round of talks on Sir Creek will be held in Pakistan.

The talks on Sir Creek were held a week after the talks on the disputed Siachen glacier, which saw a reiteration of positions by both sides.

The talks were held as part of the dialogue process which the two sides resumed in February last year, setting the stage for the review by the two foreign secretaries in New Delhi June-end. The talks between the top two diplomats will set the stage for the visit of External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna to Islamabad in July.

Sir Creek is a 96-km-long disputed territory between India and Pakistan in the Rann of Kutch marshlands, which opens up into the Arabian Sea. The Sir Creek divides the Kutch region of Gujrat state in India and the Sindh province of Pakistan.