PAKISTAN: PAKISTAN AND INDIA HAVE AGREED TO OPEN TALKS SAYING THEY ARE CONFIDENT OF SETTLING THEIR DISPUTE OVER KASHMIR
Record ID:
1374623
PAKISTAN: PAKISTAN AND INDIA HAVE AGREED TO OPEN TALKS SAYING THEY ARE CONFIDENT OF SETTLING THEIR DISPUTE OVER KASHMIR
- Title: PAKISTAN: PAKISTAN AND INDIA HAVE AGREED TO OPEN TALKS SAYING THEY ARE CONFIDENT OF SETTLING THEIR DISPUTE OVER KASHMIR
- Date: 6th January 2004
- Summary: (W5) ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (JANUARY 6, 2004) (ANI - ACCESS ALL) SV INDIAN PRIME MINISTER ATAL BEHARI VAJPAYEE GETTING OUT OF CAR, VAJPAYEE AND PAKISTAN PRIME MINISTER MIR ZAFARULLAH KHAN JAMALI SHAKING HANDS, VAJPAYEE AND JAMALI HUGGING EACH OTHER 4.11 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
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- Keywords:
- Location: ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN
- Country: Pakistan
- Topics: General,Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAAD8EXU6Y1RRPA3XJ7M4TBDWHT
- Aspect Ratio: 4:3
- Story Text: Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan have
agreed to open talks saying they are confident of settling their
dispute over Kashmir.
South Asian leaders wrapped up their first
summit in two years on Tuesday (January 6), a gathering
that saw the first talks between nuclear-armed rivals India
and Pakistan since 2001 and raised hopes for greater
regional cooperation.
The seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional
Cooperation (SAARC) agreed to launch a free-trade area from
2006, to draw up a social charter for its 1.4 billion
people and to fight terrorism.
In a show of unity at the concluding session of the
three-day summit, foreign ministers linked hands after
signing the three documents while their leaders looked on
and applauded.
But the success of moves towards SAARC's aim of greater
integration hinges on peace between India and Pakistan, its
biggest members.
Officials have declined to give details of Monday's
(January 5) ground-breaking talks between Indian Prime
Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf, or to say whether they had made any
progress towards resolving their decades-old dispute over
Kashmir, the heart of their rivalry.
But diplomats hailed the agreement as an important step
towards ending half a century of hatred, but cautioned that
the two sides were still far apart on fundamental issues.
Pakistani Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali
told reporters that certain plans had been worked out but
refused to divulge any details.
"Actually when people from different walks of life
meet, they do talk about things and chalk out plans and
only time could prove as to what has come up and it is not
very far, I assure you," Jamali told a news conference
after the conclusion of the summit.
Pakistani diplomats said "detailed discussions" with
India had taken place in a good atmosphere and both sides
said the leaders were keen to keep the momentum going to
repair relations.
"There have been plenty of misunderstanding and
miscommunication but there is one aspect, I am sure that
these dialogues have to continue they will continue,
otherwise if we don't sit and have a dialogue, how can we
convince India or India convince us? It has to be only
through dialogue," Jamali added.
Two years ago, the neighbours, who have fought three
wars since independence from Britain in 1947, came to the
brink of another war over Kashmir after an attack on the
parliament in New Delhi that India blamed on
Pakistan-backed militants.
Ties have gradually improved since April when the
79-year-old Vajpayee launched what he called a final bid
for peace in his lifetime.
Jamali said the bilateral relations were not locked in
a box and added that both Pakistani President Musharraf and
Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee held the "keys".
"To put the Pakistan and Indian issue in a box, it's
not locked. Let me assure you one thing, and I think
President Musharraf from our side and Prime Minister
Vajpayee have the master's key. They can open it whenever
they feel like."
Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said the joint
statement agreed between the two nations addressed their
major concerns.
"Prime Minister Vajpayee said that in order to take
forward and sustain the dialogue process, violence,
hostility and terrorism must be prevented. President
Musharraf reassured Prime Minister Vajpayee that he will
not permit any territory under Pakistan's control to be
used to support terrorism in any manner," Sinha told a news
conference, reading out from a prepared text of the joint
statement.
"The President of Pakistan and the Prime Minister of
India agreed to commence the process of the composite
dialogue in February 2004. The two leaders are confident
that the resumption of the composite dialogue will lead to
peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues including Jammu
and Kashmir to the satisfaction of both sides," Sinha said.
Sinha said the details of the dialogue still had to be
worked out between the two sides.
In November, Pakistan announced a ceasefire along the
front line in Kashmir, but violence between security forces
and Muslim rebels has continued on the Indian side, which
India accuses Pakistan of fomenting.
Pakistan denies helping the rebels and accuses Indian
security forces of widespread human rights abuses in
Kashmir.
Past attempts to make peace have often failed under the
weight of overblown expectations, or because they were
sabotaged by hawks on both sides.
Diplomats say both Vajpayee and Musharraf appear keen
to move forward, but it was not clear if they would find
any middle ground.
Vajpayee called for continuous contacts between the
neighbours, but cautioned that it would take a long time to
resolve their disputes.
The framework agreement to reduce or eliminate tariffs
is the most tangible development to come out of the summit,
but it will depend on better India-Pakistan relations.
Under the trade pact, SAARC's developing states --
Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka -- will cut tariffs to
between zero and five percent within seven years of the
start of the agreement.
Its least developed states -- Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan
and the Maldives -- have 10 years to complete the process,
though all members can maintain a list of sensitive
products on which tariffs will not be reduced.
SAARC's population makes up about a fifth of humanity
but most of their trade is done outside the region.
Business leaders say Pakistan and India's $1.5 billion
trade through unofficial channels and third countries could
double with a trade deal and better relations.
But there are concerns about dismantling trade barriers
that would allow cheap Indian goods to flood markets and
analysts say it is far from clear that the pact can be
implemented.
While a South Asian Preferential Trading Arrangement
has existed since December 1995, its usefulness has been
limited, with regional trade averaging just about $3.0
billion, or less than five percent of SAARC members' global
trade.
The agreement followed an ice-breaking meeting on
Monday between Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee
and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on the sidelines
of a regional summit. It was their first meeting in more
than two years.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Tuesday (January
5) said history had been made with a deal to resume talks
with India, and termed it a good beginning in a bid to
resolve their dispute over Kashmir.
"History has been made," Musharraf told a news
conference. "This is a beginning. This statement is not an
end in itself, obviously, but a good beginning has been
made."
A joint statement said the two sides had agreed to
start a dialogue in February, although details had to be
worked out. - Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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