NEW DELHI, Mar 14 (Agencies): Indian and Pakistani officials are meeting amid easing of tensions to discuss opening a visa-free border crossing to allow pilgrims to easily visit a Sikh shrine close to the border with Pakistan.
India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar says the talks have started after a Pakistani delegation crossed over to the Indian side on Thursday. Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Faisal is heading the Pakistani delegation.
Tensions flared last month after a suicide attack killed 40 Indian paramilitary soldiers in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir. The Indian air force launched an airstrike inside Pakistan, saying it was targeting militants it blamed for the bombing.
Pakistan retaliated and said it shot down two Indian air force planes. One pilot was captured and later released. Tensions have eased since.
Meanwhile, India said on Thursday it was "disappointed" by China again delaying a bid to blacklist the leader of a Pakistan-based militant group that claimed a massive suicide bombing in Kashmir last month.
The blast on February 14 killed 40 Indian troops and triggered tit-for-tat air strikes and an aerial dogfight in the most serious bust-up in years between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Although the suicide bomber was native to the part of Kashmir that Indian controls, the attack was claimed by Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), one of several militant groups based in Pakistan.
China on Wednesday put on hold a request by Britain, France and the United States to add the leader of JeM, Masood Azhar, on a UN sanctions blacklist which would subject him to a global travel ban, an assets freeze and an arms embargo.
China -- an all-weather ally of Pakistan which has blocked three similar moves -- said it needed more time to examine the sanctions request targeting Azhar, and asked for a technical hold which could last up to nine months.
In a statement, the Indian foreign ministry said it "was disappointed by the outcome", adding it would continue to pursue all avenues to make sure "terrorist leaders who are involved in heinous attacks on our citizens are brought to justice".
China has blocked three previous attempts at the committee on sanctions against Al-Qaeda and IS-linked groups to blacklist the JeM leader. The group itself was added to the UN terror list in 2001.
China's decision was the top news across Indian media on Thursday, with the Indian Express headlining its report: "Jaish chief gets Great Wall of China".
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