This week witnessed a momentous step in Indo-Pakistani relations as the leaders of the two countries announced that the path to peace was "irreversible". Rajeshree Sisodia reports from New Delhi In a joint statement on Monday 18 April, brave words were uttered by both Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf and India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. This was Musharraf's first visit to the sub-continent since his disastrous summit in Agra, India, in 2001. As the ultimate litmus test, the issue of Kashmir, wound its way to the negotiating table on Sunday when the two leaders held more than two hours of talks in New Delhi. However, precious few details emerged aside from reiterations from both sides that though no time-scale could be given to resolving the issue of the disputed region, both governments were committed to "conflict resolution". The controversial issue of sovereignty of Kashmir, the scar which has obstinately refused to heal since partition in 1947, brought the two nations to the brink of war in 2002. After signing a joint statement, itself a historic achievement in galvanising inter-nation consensus that the status quo cannot be maintained, Singh and Musharraf announced a raft of trade and economic agreements between India and Pakistan -- agreements they hope will cement the climate of bonhomie set in motion by the current peace process established early in 2004 and reinforced by the Muzaffarabad- Srinagar bus service which made its maiden voyage across Kashmir on 7 April. The statement, details of which were hammered out in New Delhi late Sunday night, outlined that both governments will establish a joint business council to improve trade; increase the number of buses across divided Kashmir; allow lorries to use bus routes; set up a rail service between Sindh province in Pakistan and the Indian state of Rajasthan; launch a new bus link between Poonch, in Indian Kashmir, and Rawalkot, in Pakistani Kashmir and a second service between Amritsar in Indian Punjab, and Lahore in Pakistani Punjab and re- open consulates in Mumbai, India, and Karachi, Pakistan. "We have to work together to convince the people that we are committed to peace," said Singh. India and Pakistan also agreed to work to settle the disputed areas of Siachen, a glacier north of the Line of Control (LoC) which separates Indian-controlled Kashmir from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, and the maritime border of Sir Creek, between the Indian state of Gujarat and Sindh province in Pakistan. The petroleum ministers of both nations are set to meet next month to discuss overall economic co-operation and the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project, which New Delhi considers vital to India's burgeoning economic growth. But once the general feel-good factor fades, the real struggle -- implementing the intricacies behind the rhetoric -- will begin. While Singh and Musharraf agreed peace was non-negotiable and that "terrorists" who attempt to derail stability in the region will not be tolerated, India maintains that any re-drawing from the Kashmir border is not an option. "The Kashmir issue was discussed. The Prime Minister [Singh] made clear that while re-drawing our boundaries was not something that was possible, anything that could bring the two sides together and which would encourage -- across the spectrum -- contact between people, will help the process a lot," said Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran, signalling New Delhi's stance that encouraging the flow of trade and people between India and Pakistan may be one way to solve longstanding differences between the two countries over Kashmir. Musharraf can now claim a partial victory as India came closer to acknowledging her neighbour's right to "sovereign equality" over Kashmir. The Pakistani president, speaking after the joint statement was issued, was upbeat. "I think we have achieved more than I expected because of the sensitivity and flexibility shown by both sides, and manifest in the discussions which took place on the basis of sovereign equality. I'm extremely satisfied with the outcome," he said. Political parties from the all-party Hurriyat Conference in Indian Kashmir -- whom Musharraf met on Sunday in New Delhi to express his commitment that the people of the disputed region should be instrumental in deciding their own future -- were not as optimistic. Mirwaiz Umer Farooq, conference leader, warned both countries not to take the people of Kashmir for granted. "They [the Kashmiris] must be a third party to any solution to the Kashmir problem," he said. Perhaps the most accurate gauge of Musharraf's much-lauded India visit will be public and political consensus in Pakistan. Analysts have predicted the Pakistani leader's homecoming will be lukewarm. While many Pakistanis welcomed his recent attempts to initiate a dialogue that will lure the two sides to peace and stability in the region, the headway Musharraf made last weekend may further arm Pakistan's hard-line political leaders who claim Musharraf is pandering not only to the US by complying with Washington's demands to flush out "terrorism" but also now to New Delhi. Whether Islamabad's political elite will be convinced with the fruits of Musharraf's three- day diplomatic foray into India remains to be seen.
