Pakistani, Indian FMs push for peace talks<\/p>\n
Reuters, Islamabad<\/p>\n
Foreign ministers from India and Pakistan met on Wednesday to
\nadvance a fledgling peace process and discuss divided Kashmir,
\nthe root cause of decades of hostility between the nuclear-armed
\nneighbors.<\/p>\n
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri held
\ninformal talks with his Indian counterpart Natwar Singh on the
\nsidelines of a regional forum to discuss where the road map to
\npeace is leading the South Asian neighbors.<\/p>\n
\"We discussed Kashmir, the bus service and Indian-Pakistan
\nrelations,\" Kasuri told reporters after a 75-minute breakfast
\nmeeting. \"There is no such issue that we did not touch.\"<\/p>\n
The sides have proposed reviving a bus service linking the two
\ncapitals of Kashmir, but talks have been delayed for months due
\nto differences over passenger documentation and what status to
\ngive the militarized Line of Control dividing the region.<\/p>\n
Singh said there had been \"progress\", adding that Kasuri would
\ntravel to New Delhi for formal talks on Sept. 5 and 6. He said
\nthe two sides aimed to reopen consulates in Pakistan's port city
\nof Karachi and India's Bombay as soon as possible.<\/p>\n
But in a reference to ongoing violence in Kashmir, he added:
\n\"We also discussed cross border terrorism and infiltration,
\neverything. We hope we will be able to make greater progress
\nafter the September meeting.\"<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands of people have been killed in a 15-year
\ninsurgency by militants in India's only Muslim-majority state,
\nand a recent spike in attacks is causing concern in New Delhi.<\/p>\n
Late on Tuesday, suspected Muslim rebels ambushed a police
\npatrol in Indian Kashmir, killing four policemen.<\/p>\n
New Delhi blames the violence on Pakistani militants crossing
\nthe Line of Control, but Islamabad calls the rebellion a local
\n\"legitimate freedom struggle\" against Indian rule.<\/p>\n
While no breakthrough was expected this week, diplomats and
\nanalysts said sustaining contact was vital to the process.<\/p>\n
Wednesday's meeting was the third between Kasuri and Singh
\nsince India's Congress party won a surprise victory in elections
\nin May.<\/p>\n
Their talks in September will follow a series of official
\nnegotiations on six disputes, ranging from water sharing to a
\nHimalayan battlefield on the Siachen Glacier.<\/p>\n
Singh is expected to call this week on President Pervez
\nMusharraf, who with former Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari
\nVajpayee is the main architect of a peace initiative formally
\nlaunched when the two met at a regional summit in January.<\/p>\n
India and Pakistan have fought three wars, two of them over
\nKashmir and one over Bangladesh, and came close to waging a
\nfourth in 2002 after Pakistan-based militants launched an attack
\non Indian parliament.<\/p>\n
One million troops amassed on their border, but U.S.
\nintervention and an olive branch extended by Vajpayee in April,
\n2003 pulled them back from the brink.<\/p>\n
Since then, transport links have been restored and people-to-
\npeople contacts encouraged, and both countries are looking at
\nways of boosting economic cooperation and trade.<\/p>\n
The new government in New Delhi has expressed interest in
\npursuing a natural gas pipeline running from Iran across Pakistan
\nto meet India's growing energy needs, a major project held up for
\nyears by tensions in South Asia.<\/p>\n
Western diplomats say the thaw in relations between Pakistan
\nand India in the last two years offers the best chance for
\nlasting peace in South Asia in decades.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pakistani-indian-fms-push-for-peace-talks-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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