Friday, May 27 2005 16:56 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: India and Pakistan today (May 27, 2005) agreed to continue the ceasefire between them but did not make progress on demilitarisation of Siachen glacier, the world's highest battlefield, at the talks between their top Defence officials.

However, the two sides at the two-day Defence Secretary- level talks at the Pakistani Army Headquarters in Rawalpindi near Islamabad agreed to continue parleys on Siachen issue.

"It was agreed by the two Defence Secretaries to continue with their discussions to resolve the Siachen issue in a peaceful manner," a joint press release issued at the end of the talks said.

"The two sides held frank and constructive discussions with a view to taking the process forward. They expressed satisfaction at the ceasefire currently in place since November 2003 and agreed to its continuation," it said.

Defence Secretary Ajai Vikram Singh led an eight-member Indian delegation at the talks while the Pakistani side was led by his counterpart General (Retd) Tariq Waseem Ghazi.

This was the ninth round of talks on Siachen and also the second round of parleys on the issue under the current process of the composite dialogue between the two countries.

Yesterday, on the first day of the talks, officials said the two sides discussed some proposals relating to certain Confidence Building Measures on the key issue of demilitarisation of Siachen.

Talks on Siachen would be followed by the two-day parleys from tomorrow on another contentious issue Sir Creek.