Tuesday, May 24 2005 11:17 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Ahead of talks between Indian and Pakistani officials on demilitarisation of Siachen glacier, Pakistan yesterday (May 23, 2005) said the two countries need to have a "sustained dialogue process" to find a settlement which enjoys "international legitimacy."

"Siachen and Sir Creek are important issues. We have to engage with India and have a sustained dialogue to find a solution," Foreign Office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani told reporters in Islamabad ahead of the May 26-27 talks to discuss differences over withdrawing troops from the world's highest battlefield.

The Siachen talks would be followed by another round of discussions on Sir Creek on May 28-29.

"We can't simply have a situation where we have these important issues on the table and we do not talk to each other," Jilani said when asked about holding talks even though the two sides were deadlocked over their stated positions over withdrawing troops from Siachen.

"We have to have sustained dialogue process with India in order to find a settlement which enjoys international legitimacy and in accordance with the past agreements between India and Pakistan," he said.

He claimed the Indian "incursion" into Siachen was a violation of the Karachi Agreement and Shimla Agreement, adding Defence Secretaries of the two countries' agreed in 1989 to "unconditionally withdraw troops" to the position that they were deployed at the signing of Shimla agreement.

The two-day talks on Sir Creek would focus on the results of the joint survey carried out by the Defence officials of the two countries.