Siachen, Sir Creek issues look ripe for resolution: Pak

Acknowledging that the dialogue process with India had slowed down due to its domestic circumstances, Pakistan has said the two sides may be able to resolve Siachen and Sir Creek issues by early next year.

Pakistan's caretaker Foreign Minister Inamul Haq also said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh could visit Islamabad after installation of the new government in Islamabad during which an agreement on the two issues is expected to be reached.

"These are the two issues (Siachen and Sir Creek) that look ripe for resolution. They may be ready for approval by the time Dr Singh visits us early 2008," Haq said.

He also admitted that the dialogue between the two countries had slowed down due to the domestic circumstances in Pakistan.

"And yet we are on course and I wouldn't say anything has been derailed at all," Haq, who was in New Delhi to attend the South-east Asian Association for Regional Cooperation ministerial meet, told Dawn newspaper.

Dr Singh is expected to visit Pakistan soon after a new government is installed in Islamabad after the January 8 parliamentary polls, he said after his meeting with External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on the sidelines of the SAARC conference.

"We'll need a month for the new administration to settle down and we can expect the prime minister to make his visit soon after that," he said.

Haq's optimism about the future of the peace process appeared to "flow from what sources said was a positive first meeting with Mukherjee," the report said.