India, Pakistan seek ways to cut risk of nuclear war

NEW DELHI – India and Pakistan opened negotiations Saturday to reduce the risk of an accidental nuclear conflict six years after the neighboring rivals, which have gone to war three times since 1947, conducted atomic tests and raised fears of a South Asian conflagration.

Experts from both sides focused on a ban on further tests and preventing the accidental or non-authorized use of nuclear weapons, an Indian official said on condition of anonymity.

“The two delegations discussed how to formulate a joint strategy as a result of which the possibility of a nuclear conflict or nuclear crisis is reduced,” Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan told Geo television network in an interview.

India and Pakistan carried out nuclear tests in May 1998, provoking military and economic sanctions by the United States and its allies. International fears about a nuclear confrontation were exacerbated when the two countries’ forces fought in the Himalayas in 1999 and came close to war again in mid-2002.

The talks are only the first stage in the nuclear dialogue.

Saturday’s meeting was led by top foreign ministry officials, Sheel Kant Sharma from India and Tariq Usman Haider of Pakistan.

The two delegations “exchanged views on their respective security concepts and nuclear doctrines,” and agreed to “work toward confidence building measures,” Navtej Sarna, India’s external affairs ministry spokesman, said in a statement.

The statement said both sides were upbeat and determined to produce results. Currently, the two countries have conflicting nuclear policies.

India – which enjoys a substantial advantage in conventional weapons over Pakistan – says it would not be the first to use nuclear weapons. Pakistan has not committed to a no-first-strike doctrine.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over control of the Himalayan territory of Kashmir since their independence from Britain in 1947.