Thursday, January 27 2005 20:06 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Notwithstanding hitches in talks with Pakistan on the Baglihar hydropower project in Jammu and Kashmir and on some other issues, India today (Jan 27, 2005) stressed that the ongoing composite dialogue process should stay on course and not be deflected.

"The important thing is to stay on course and not be deflected. Both countries are interested in continuing with the peace process," Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told a group of reporters on the margins of the three-day Asian Security Conference in New Delhi.

Further Confidence Building Measures (CBM's) and stepped up people-to-people contacts were well anchored in the Government's policy to pursue the peace process, he said.

New Delhi had taken exception to Pakistan's decision to seek World Bank's arbitration to resolve differences over construction of Baglihar project, saying such a move was not justified.

Asked about India's proposal to establish five designated points along the Line of Control (LoC), he said Pakistan did not appear to be keen on it.

During his, the Foreign Secretary-level talks in Islamabad last month, Saran had proposed establishment of five designated points along the border for interaction between divided families on both sides of Kashmir.

The five identified meeting places on the LoC and international border are Mendhar, Poonch, Suchetgarh, Uri and Tangdhar.