More than a year after New Delhi and Islamabad agreed to set up the direct communication line connecting the two top bureaucrats, the technical parameters in this regard have been completed and Standard Operating Procedures formulated.
"We are awaiting Pakistan's consent to the SOPs and the moment we receive their response, we will go ahead with setting up the hotline," a senior Home Ministry official said.
However, it is not clear whether the hotline will materialise before the India-Pakistan home secretary level talks scheduled to be held in Islamabad on May 24-25.
As of now, the hotline will be non-encrypted and it will be installed either at the first floor office of the Home Secretary in the North Block or in the Home Ministry control room, which functions 24x7.
When the hotline will become operational, it will be considered as a major confidence building step between India and Pakistan.
