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| Monday, 16 February 2004 |
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South Asian nuclear rivals make another start on road to peace ISLAMABAD, Sunday (AFP) Pakistan and India return to the negotiating table after more than two-and-a-half years on Monday in a bid to solve the thorny Kashmir dispute which has plagued relations since independence from Britain. The nuclear-capable countries have not discussed Kashmir since July 2001, since when they have veered dangerously close to their third war over the disputed region. Senior foreign ministry officials will hold three days of talks here to work out a framework for engagement under a breakthrough agreement reached last month. "In this first round the challenge would be to come out with an agenda, a structure and timeframe for various tiers of the dialogue process," Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan told AFP. "We hope that the round will be productive and successful. We will participate in the talks earnestly and sincerely and our expectation is that the other side is coming to Islamabad with the same degree of earnestness." After preparatory joint secretary-level talks Monday and Tuesday, the top Indian foreign ministry official, Foreign Secretary Shashank, and his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Khokar will get together on Wednesday. The January 6 accord between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was the culmination of a series of confidence-building measures since last April, including restoring travel links and full diplomatic ties. The two countries had been on the brink of war in 2002 following an assault on the New Delhi parliament complex which India blamed on Pakistan-backed militants. The new detente has raised hopes in both Hindu-dominated India and Muslim Pakistan, but untangling the Gordian knot of Kashmir is widely seen as a problem as complex as the Middle East imbroglio. The row over the Himalayan territory, split between India and Pakistan and claimed by both, has caused two of the neighbours' three wars since 1947. Optimists are encouraged by US-led international efforts to nudge India and Pakistan towards finding a political solution to the conflict in Kashmir, where a Muslim insurgency in the Indian zone has left tens of thousands of people dead since 1989. The last formal talks on Kashmir took place at Agra in India in 2001 when Vajpayee and Musharraf met but failed to break the deadlock. In the January agreement Musharraf pledged not to allow any terrorism from Pakistani territory, while Vajpayee accepted composite dialogue on resolving Kashmir and all other issues. Musharraf later said the agreement was a victory for moderates in both Pakistan and India, emphasizing the need to sideline extremists on both sides. "The most crucial issue the two sides have to resolve is the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir," the foreign ministry spokesman said. "Both nations should invest their time and energy in this process because the people of Pakistan and India, the Kashmir and the international community have their eyes on this dialogue. It is a moment for statesmanship," Khan said. Pakistan is keen to see tangible movement on Kashmir while India is seemingly more interested in the promotion of bilateral commerce and trade. Musharraf has frequently called for simultaneous progress on both issues through flexibility by both sides. Once the structure of negotiations are decided, the next round of talks may have to await the conclusion of the April general elections in India, where Vajpayee's party looks confident of retaining power. In New Delhi, senior foreign policy analyst Raja Mohan said the two sides were unlikely to take up substantive issues during the upcoming talks. |
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