India, Pakistan pledge to move forward on Kashmir<\/p>\n
Y.P. Rajesh
\nand Tahir Ikram
\nReuters\/New Delhi<\/p>\n
India and Pakistan vowed to press ahead with discussions on
\nKashmir on Monday after their first formal talks on the
\nflashpoint region in three years, boosting hopes of a lasting
\npeace in South Asia.<\/p>\n
After two days of talks two years after almost coming to war,
\nthey finalized plans to return their embassies to full strength,
\nreopen consulates in each other's financial capitals, release
\nfishermen who strayed across the border and inform each other of
\nmissile tests.<\/p>\n
"The talks have begun positively, it's a good beginning...we
\nhave to move forward and we will go forward," Indian foreign
\nministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told a news conference.<\/p>\n
No major breakthrough had been expected at such an early
\nstage. Analysts the signs were positive but the neighbors still
\nhad a lot of hard work ahead before they could resolve the
\nemotional issue of Kashmir, trigger of two of their three wars.<\/p>\n
India, which rules 45 percent of Kashmir, considers the
\nMuslim-majority region an integral part of its territory.<\/p>\n
Pakistan, which holds a third, has sought the implementation
\nof UN resolutions for a plebiscite for Kashmiris to choose
\nbetween India and Pakistan.<\/p>\n
"So far so good," said C. Raja Mohan, who teaches
\ninternational relations at New Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru
\nUniversity. "They have taken one step forward. Many more steps
\nhave to be taken."<\/p>\n
The talks in New Delhi between the heads of the two foreign
\ndepartments -- India's Shashank, who uses only one name, and
\nPakistan's Riaz Khokhar -- were the first on Kashmir since a
\nfailed 2001 summit between the countries' leaders.<\/p>\n
"They held a detailed exchange of views on Jammu and Kashmir
\nand agreed to continue the sustained and serious dialog to find a
\npeaceful negotiated final settlement," the two sides said in a a
\nstatement.<\/p>\n
Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan separately
\ntold reporters: "Both sides were surefooted, they talked about
\ntraditionally known positions, they also expressed the intent to
\nmove forward."<\/p>\n
The two sides said their experts would discuss details of a
\nrange of other issues plaguing bilateral ties, including a
\nstandoff on the Siachen Glacier, the world's highest
\nbattleground, between the third week of July and first half of
\nAugust.<\/p>\n
The talks were the latest step in a slow but steady peace
\nprocess that began in April last year.<\/p>\n
Shashank and Khokhar have agreed to meet again in August,
\nahead of a meeting by both foreign ministers to review progress
\non the peace process.<\/p>\n
Highlighting the stakes, at least 45 people were killed in
\nKashmir in the week leading up to Sunday's opening of the talks,
\namid fears the bloodshed in the Himalayan region could undermine
\nefforts to move forward.<\/p>\n
"It is self-evident that the positive momentum in the peace
\nprocess should not be allowed to slow down by the shadow of
\nterrorism and violence," India's Sarna said.<\/p>",
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