ISLAMABAD, 7 January 2004 — India and Pakistan yesterday agreed to open talks next month on Kashmir, the core dispute between the nuclear-armed neighbors. A joint statement said the talks will touch on all issues, including Kashmir.
“History has been made. There are no winners or losers,” Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said in a press conference following the announcement. “I think victory is for the world — for all those peace-loving people of the world. Victory is for all the people of India and Pakistan. Victory is for the people of Kashmir who have suffered for all these years, who are suffering. I would say victory is to the moderates in India and the moderates in Pakistan.”
Musharraf gave credit for the deal to the “vision” and “statesmanship” of Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. He said the two men sealed the agreement early yesterday in a phone call following their historic face-to-face meeting a day earlier.
The surprise agreement followed two days of leadership talks under the cover of a major South Asian regional summit that provided the impetus for Vajpayee’s visit to the Pakistani capital.
Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said details, including the location of the talks and the level at which they will be held, were still to be worked out, but that the negotiations would be ongoing and comprehensive. He expressed optimism the talks would lead to a lasting peace agreement, including on the issue of Kashmir. The Himalayan region is divided between the two countries, but claimed by both in its entirety. The dispute has claimed at least 65,000 lives since 1989.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri also praised the deal as a victory for both sides.
A high-ranking Indian official said on condition of anonymity that the talks would revolve around eight points, including Kashmir and two other territorial spats, fighting terrorism, trade and confidence-building measures. The two sides almost came to war in 2002 after an attack on the Parliament in New Delhi that India blamed on Pakistani-backed militants.
But in April, the 79-year-old Vajpayee launched what he called a final bid for peace in his lifetime. In November Pakistan announced a cease-fire along the front line dividing the two armies in Kashmir.
India accuses Pakistan of arming and training Kashmiris, and had refused to talk until it had evidence Pakistan was no longer encouraging “cross-border terrorism”.
Pakistan denies fuelling the militancy and accuses India of grave rights abuses in its part of Kashmir.
“President Musharraf has reassured Prime Minister Vajpayee that he will not permit any territory under Pakistan’s control to be used to support terrorism in any manner,” the joint statement said.
— Additional input from agencies
