2006年VOA标准英语-India, Pakistan Resume Peace Talks

By Anjana Pasricha
New Delhi
14 November 2006

India and Pakistan have resumed a peace process that was halted earlier this year by deadly train bombings in Mumbai. Anjana Pasricha reports from the Indian capital, where the talks between the South Asian rivals are taking place.

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Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammed Khan, left, and his Indian counterpart Shiv Shanker Menon, right, in New Delhi, Inida, Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2006

The day-long talks in New Delhi between Indian foreign secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart, Riaz Mohammed Khan, focused on issues ranging from terrorism to the disputed region of Kashmir.

Indian Foreign Ministry¹ spokesman Navtej Sarna called Tuesday's talks positive.

"It was a very detailed² meeting, it was held in a very constructive³ and positive atmosphere," he said.

The top diplomats⁴ of the two countries are picking up the threads of a peace dialogue that almost came unraveled in July, after bombings that killed 186 people in Mumbai. India accused Islamabad's spy agency and a Pakistan-based Islamist group of involvement in the bombings.

Islamabad denies any links to the bombers⁵. The talks were put back on track after the Indian and Pakistani leaders decided⁶ to create a joint⁷ anti-terrorism mechanism⁸ to counter terrorist attacks in the region.

Indian officials say combating terrorism is one of the most important issues on their agenda, and they want progress on the issue.

India blames most terrorist attacks, both in its part of divided Kashmir and in the rest of the country, on Islamic groups based in Pakistan. It wants Pakistan to clamp down on these groups' activities. Islamabad says it has already done so.

Sukh Deo Muni, a former professor of South Asian affairs at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, says Tuesday's dialogue was significant, because it showed that both countries are committed to keeping the three-year old peace process on track.

He said, "It is very slow, there are occasional disruptions in it, but ... it is being kept alive. There is a double pressure on both these states. One is the pressure from within these countries by the people who do not want peace dialogue to be disrupted. On the other hand there is international pressure."

The peace process between the South Asian rivals covers everything from their dispute over the divided region of Kashmir to trade and cultural ties.

Pakistani officials have said they want progress on proposals to demilitarize the Siachen Glacier⁹. This is a 55-hundred-meter-high icy battlefield in the disputed Kashmir region where Indian and Pakistani troops have faced off since 1984.

The negotiations¹⁰ have helped ease tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries.

The two have opened their once-tightly guarded border, and are observing a ceasefire in Kashmir, although a lasting¹¹ solution on the Himalayan region - the primary source of tension between them - is still nowhere in sight.

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

3 constructive   

adj.建设的，建设性的

参考例句：

• We welcome constructive criticism.我们乐意接受有建设性的批评。
• He is beginning to deal with his anger in a constructive way.他开始用建设性的方法处理自己的怒气。

4 diplomats   

n.外交官( diplomat的名词复数 )；有手腕的人，善于交际的人

参考例句：

• These events led to the expulsion of senior diplomats from the country. 这些事件导致一些高级外交官被驱逐出境。
• The court has no jurisdiction over foreign diplomats living in this country. 法院对驻本国的外交官无裁判权。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 bombers   

n.轰炸机( bomber的名词复数 )；投弹手；安非他明胶囊；大麻叶香烟

参考例句：

• Enemy bombers carried out a blitz on the city. 敌军轰炸机对这座城市进行了突袭。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Royal Airforce sill remained dangerously short of bombers. 英国皇家空军仍未脱离极为缺乏轰炸机的危境。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

8 mechanism   

n.机械装置；机构，结构

参考例句：

• The bones and muscles are parts of the mechanism of the body.骨骼和肌肉是人体的组成部件。
• The mechanism of the machine is very complicated.这台机器的结构是非常复杂的。

9 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

10 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

11 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。