India, Pakistan to hold peace talks

ISLAMABAD - India and Pakistan, which went to the brink of nuclear war less than two years ago, yesterday agreed to hold peace talks without preconditions on Kashmir, which has poisoned their relations for more than half a century, and the rest of the issues dividing them.

The deal was described as "historic" by Pakistan's military ruler, General Pervez Musharraf, after a meeting in Islamabad with the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, who was visiting Pakistan for the first time in nearly five years.

Talks will begin next month between the two countries' most senior diplomats.

In a joint declaration Musharraf pledged not to permit his country to be used as a haven for terrorism, and Vajpayee promised to seek a solution to the Kashmir dispute.

Gone were the usual Pakistani denials that it supports Muslim militants fighting Indian rule in the divided territory, and Indian demands that cross-border infiltration stop before a dialogue can begin.

Any reduction of tension in south Asia will be welcome in a world preoccupied with terrorism, the aftermath of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the proliferation of nuclear weapons - for which Pakistan is accused of bearing major responsibility.

Musharraf was seen as a crucial ally by Washington immediately after the September 2001 attacks, when he risked domestic outrage to support the United States-led invasion of Afghanistan.

Since then, however, the Bush Administration has become disenchanted by evidence of Pakistan sharing nuclear and missile technology with Iran and North Korea, two of the three members of the so-called "axis of evil", as well as New Delhi's arguments that Islamabad is an active supporter of terrorism on Indian territory.

With Libya agreeing to give up its weapons of mass destruction and Iran opening its nuclear facilities to UN inspectors, hawks think the biggest risk of terrorists obtaining nuclear weapons is from rogue elements in Pakistan.

Isolated internationally and under threat at home, where he has escaped two assassination attempts in the past month, Musharraf was effusive yesterday about the rapprochement with India.

Most details of the negotiations have yet to be worked out, but the Pakistani leader said yesterday: "History has been made. This is a ... good beginning."

He praised Vajpayee's "vision" and "statesmanship", a sharp contrast to the tension of 2002, when more than a million men faced off across the border and the Indian Prime Minister spoke of the need for "a decisive battle".

Musharraf promised to meet the threat with "full force".

He said yesterday he had not discussed possible solutions to the Kashmir issue with Vajpayee, saying that would come when the dialogue got under way.

No deadline had been set for a final deal, he said, reinforcing the impression that the agreement so far is more about goodwill than specifics.

Militants on both sides could still threaten any accord. The negotiations were immediately denounced as a "betrayal" by Amanullah Khan, chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front, which wants outright independence.

Syed Salahuddin, head of Hezb-ul Mujahedeen, the main Muslim militant group fighting in Kashmir, said operations would continue until India released jailed Kashmiri leaders and withdrew its troops to barracks.

Sceptics will point to the decades of mutual hostility and suspicion to be overcome, as well as the short-lived history of previous reconciliations.

At 79, Vajpayee wants to be seen as leaving a legacy of peace. But a general election is due this year, and warmer relations with Pakistan could reap benefits for his coalition among India's substantial Muslim vote.

Heated issue

* The Himalayan region of Kashmir has been split between India and Pakistan since just after independence from Britain in 1947.

* It has been the cause of two of their three wars and the dispute has cost tens of thousands of lives.

* India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.

* India had refused to talk until it had evidence Pakistan was no longer encouraging "cross-border terrorism".

* Pakistan has denied fuelling the militancy and accuses India of heinous rights abuses in its part of Kashmir.

- INDEPENDENT