Kashmir issue taken up

The Kashmir issue has now been brought to the fore-front of bilateral discussions between the countries, and the polite fiction maintained for so long, that resolution of the issue would be reserved for final status negotiations is no more. The idea that India and Pakistan could resolve all of their other differences first, and only then attempt to tackle Kashmir was fine in theory, but in practice the continued non-resolution of the Kashmir issue protracted the mutual enmity and held up the resolution of other issues. It is a good thing that this has now finally been acknowledged.

President Musharraf has stated that confidence building measures can proceed only after the resolution of the Kashmir issue. This is nothing more than the plain and simple truth of the matter. To its credit, India has finally accepted this uncomfortable reality, and agreed to put priority resolution of the Kashmir issue on the agenda. This is a huge step for the Indian side, and, in return, Pakistan has signaled its willingness to discuss issues such as cross-border terrorism that are a priority for India. Once again, the fact of Pakistan sponsored terrorism in India is a simple truth, but acknowledging this and pledging to address the issue on a priority basis is a big step forward.

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It finally appears as though India and Pakistan are on the road to a meaningful dialogue. We hope, that both sides really mean business, and could create the kind of cooperative ambience that would have a beneficial impact on all other areas of the bilateral relationship.