NEW DELHI: India is considering a proposal to Pakistan suggesting that the two countries jointly tap the energy potential in the Sir Creek region, thereby ending the five-decade long dispute, sources at a meeting of top Indian leaders quoted Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as saying on Tuesday.

Sources at the meeting of leaders of the allied left parties stated that Singh said he was considering sending a proposal to Islamabad that entailed the two countries embarking on a joint oil exploration venture and sharing the resources, putting aside the boundary conflict over Sir Creek, the 60-mile long estuary in the Rann of Kutch separating Gujarat from the Pakistani province of Sindh.

Both countries have completed comprehensive surveys of the region. Among the issues between the two countries, the Sir Creek issue is viewed as less problematic resolvable.

Singh told leaders that it would be prudent for India and Pakistan to focus on economic issues considering the possibility of large deposits of oil and gas below the seabed and that he would like the two countries to ponder over the idea.

Several rounds of talks have been held between the two countries since 1969, primarily over the demarcation of a boundary that would help define the limits of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) and the continental shelf. According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, both countries need to resolve the issue by 2009.

India has said that its approach is based on provisions of the technical aspects of Law of the Sea, which will help both sides in exploration of resources in their respective EEZs. However, Pakistan argues that the international law doctrine is not applicable here as it applies to only navigable water bodies. New Delhi contests this by saying that it is navigable during high tide.

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