India-Pakistan agreed to replace 8-point Composite Dialogue with 10-point Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue

India and Pakistan on 9 December 2015 agreed to replace 8-point Composite Dialogue Process (CDP) with 10-point Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue (CBD).

The decision was stated in the joint statement that was issued after a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Pakistan Prime Minister's Advisor on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad.

Issues covered under Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue

1. Peace and security, confidence building measures
2. Jammu and Kashmir
3. Siachen
4. Sir Creek
5. Wullar Barrage/Tulbul Project
6. Economic and commercial cooperation
7. Counter-terrorism, narcotics control
8. Humanitarian issues
9. People-to-people exchanges
10. Religious tourism

In addition to eight points of the Composite Dialogue Process, the CBD incorporated humanitarian issues and religious tourism as two new elements to make the peace building process more comprehensive.

Apart from the CBD, the other elements covered in the joint statement are

• National Security Advisors (NSAs) to take forward talks on terrorism; It is the for first time NSAs are entrusted with issues related to terrorism
• Commitment of Pakistan to expedite Mumbai attacks trial
• Secretary-level talks within stipulated time table

• Visit of PM Narendra Modi to Pakistan in 2016 to participate in the SAARC summit

About Comprehensive Bilateral Dialogue

The roots of the CDP date back to May 1997, when the then Indian Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral and Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif mooted the idea of a structured dialogue based on a compromise approach.

The approach was considered as a compromise, since it incorporated all the issues that are of interest to India and Pakistan, individually and collectively, since the partition in 1947.

Though the inclusion of much contended Jammu and Kashmir issue gave boost to the dialogue process, it was halted in the wake of 26 November 2008 terror attacks on Mumbai by 10 Pakistani members of Lashkar-e-Taiba.

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