India, Pakistan Say They Will Hold Talks

02/05/2003| IslamWeb

India and Pakistan said Friday they will soon hold their first talks in almost two years aimed at ending five decades of war and acrimony between the nuclear armed neighbors. Vajpayee, 78 and ailing, has indicated he would like to leave a legacy of peace between India and Pakistan. He called for a 'conducive atmosphere' for talks India is to re-establish full diplomatic relations with its nuclear rival Pakistan. "This round of talks will be decisive," Atal Bihari Vajpayee told Parliament, "and at least for my life, these will be the last." "Talks will begin very soon," Pakistan's Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told journalists in Islamabad. "Things are moving very fast." However, on the possibility of talks to resolve the Himalayan region of Kashmir dispute, Mr Vajpayee said that there would be no role for any "third-party" to mediate, a long-standing demand of Pakistan. Last week, Vajpayee conditionally offered talks with Pakistan on the disputed Kashmir and other issues. Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has voiced some skepticism over the offer, but said it was a sign of improvement. Pakistan's foreign ministry said Vajpayee's announcement was "a good step in the right direction." It came four days after Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali phoned the Indian leader in the first such high-level contact in almost two years. "We are committed to the improvement of relations with Pakistan and we are willing to grasp every opportunity for doing so," Vajpayee told Indian lawmakers. He said he is restoring civil aviation links that were broken last year, and will appoint a new ambassador to Islamabad. Pakistan has welcomed the announcement and is expected to reciprocate. Ahmed, the information minister, said Pakistan is likely to restore diplomatic ties with India. Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf is holding a meeting of senior officials to discuss the latest development. Friction between the nuclear-armed neighbors has roots in a territorial dispute over Kashmir, which is divided between India and Pakistan. Both countries claim Kashmir in its entirety, and they have fought two wars over the region since their independence from Britain in 1947. The two countries went on war footing last year after India blamed Pakistan for an attack by Islamic militants on the Indian Parliament in December 2001. Pakistan denied involvement. At the height of the crisis, more than one million soldiers were lined up ready for combat. In May last year, India expelled the Pakistani ambassador following a raid on an Indian army camp in Kashmir. Tensions eased after intense diplomacy by the United States and Britain. India accuses Pakistan of aiding the militants. Pakistan says it only offers the fighters moral support. "This is a new beginning," Vajpayee said. "We don't want to forget the past, but we don't want to remain slaves of the past." Vajpayee did not directly answer Parliament members' questions about whether he was changing India's policy of not holding talks with Pakistan until Islamic militants stop crossing the frontier to wage attacks in India. Vajpayee said he was trying for "a third time" to make permanent peace with Pakistan. In 1999, he traveled to Lahore to meet with then-Pakistani President Nawaz Sharif, but a few months later the two nations were involved in what India calls the Kargil War in the mountains of Kashmir. Vajpayee invited Musharraf to talks in the Taj Mahal city of Agra in July 2001. There were no agreements, and in December the Parliament attack ended contacts. **PHOTO CAPTION*** Behair Vajpayee (L) and Pervez Musharraf (R)