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| Saturday, 26 June 2004 |
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India, Pakistan seek to untangle Kashmir knot NEW DELHI, Friday (Reuters) Having made good progress over tackling a range of contentious issues, India and Pakistan will begin talks on Sunday on the Kashmir dispute that is at the heart of half a century of enmity between the South Asian rivals. The two-day meeting in New Delhi between bureaucrats heading the two foreign ministries will be the first time the neighbours formally grapple with the thorny row since a failed summit between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in mid-2001. Rapid moves by the nuclear-armed nations, who edged to the brink of a third war over Kashmir in 2002, to rebuild ties and discuss Kashmir are in themselves a significant achievement, Foreign Ministry officials and analysts said. However, no solution will be found overnight. Sunday's talks will be the first in a series of prolonged negotiations to try to end a bitter dispute that has claimed tens of thousands of lives in the scenic Himalayan region. "The important aspect is that these talks will convey the message that Kashmir is being talked about," said Sukh Deo Muni, a South Asia expert at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University. "They will discuss confidence-building measures like reducing troops in Kashmir to ease tensions," he said. "Other than that, I don't see them going beyond pleasantries and putting things back on track." Indian Foreign Secretary Shashank, who uses only one name, and his Pakistani counterpart, Riaz Khokhar, are also expected to discuss steps to reduce the risk of a nuclear war in South Asia and to boost trade and contacts between peoples who share many cultural similarities. Last week, senior officials of the two countries met in the Indian capital and laid the groundwork for the two foreign secretaries by agreeing on steps to prevent a nuclear conflict. The neighbours have also infused a new warmth into ties since making a renewed bid for peace last year. They have reestablished full diplomatic relations, restored transport links, successfully observed a ceasefire on the Kashmir frontier and played a hugely successful cricket series. Untangling the Kashmir knot is a problem on quite another level. "The hardest nut to crack will be Kashmir," said Samina Ahmed of the Brussels-based International Crisis Group. "What is really important is that the dialogue is sustained and both sides are willing to understand the constraints of the other," she said. Experts suggest several proposals to settle Kashmir's status. Among them is maintaining a status quo whereby a ceasefire line dividing Kashmir becomes a permanent border, redrawing borders to give Muslim-dominated areas to Pakistan and the Hindu and Buddhist areas to India as well as possible independence to the entire state or the Muslim Kashmir Valley or autonomy to the region under the joint control of both countries. |
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