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| Saturday, 17 July 2004 |
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Pakistan, India to review peace progress at SAARC summit ISLAMABAD, Friday (Reuters) A meeting between Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers will take centre stage at a regional conference next week, amid concerns that a fledgling peace process between the South Asian rivals may be losing momentum. Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri and Indian counterpart Natwar Singh will talk during or just after a meeting of the seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to see where the roadmap to peace is heading. The old rivals have come a long way since more than a million troops were massed along their border in 2002 and a third war over the disputed region of Kashmir loomed. A peace process launched in April last year has been billed as the best chance ever for normal ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours. But euphoria at a January meeting between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, and an Indian cricket tour of Pakistan, has faded as people focus more on Kashmir, the source of decades of hostility. "We are reaching the point now where they need to begin to demonstrate they are making progress on Kashmir, or it remains the one thing left undone," said a Western diplomat in Islamabad. Officials have cautioned against unfounded optimism, and insist that a gradual approach offers the best chance of success. Singh and Kasuri are unlikely to achieve any breakthrough during what is essentially another "get to know you" session next week. Singh is due to meet Musharraf in Islamabad and a formal meeting between foreign ministers is set for August 25. Talks on issues including water sharing, the Siachen Glacier battlefield, where more troops die of cold than enemy fire, and economic cooperation will be held before then. But Pakistan insists on keeping Kashmir at the heart of the process, even though it may mean tackling contentious issues, such as sovereignty. Tens of thousands of people have died in a 15-year insurgency in Indian Kashmir which New Delhi blames on Pakistani militants but which Islamabad says is a struggle against Indian occupation. Spiralling violence this month after a period of relative calm has cast a shadow over the peace process, analysts say. "I am not saying there is any reduction in will on either side to go ahead with the process," said G. Parthasarthy, former Indian ambassador to Pakistan. "But the process cannot remain unaffected by what's happening on the ground, and the ground has changed a bit." Authorities in Kashmir say more than 140 people have died in separatist attacks this month alone, one of the highest tallies in recent months. SAARC leaders agreed in January to launch a free trade area from 2006, draw up a social charter for their 1.4 billion people and fight terrorism. SAARC foreign ministers will also have domestic issues on their minds. |
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