ISLAMABAD, 17 July 2004 — A meeting between Indian and Pakistani foreign ministers will take center stage at a regional conference next week, amid concerns that a fledgling peace process between the South Asian rivals may be losing momentum.
Pakistani Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri and Indian counterpart Natwar Singh will hold talks during or just after a meeting of the seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to see where the road map to peace is heading.
The old rivals have come a long way since more than a million troops were massed along their border in 2002 and a third war over the disputed region of Kashmir loomed.
A peace process launched in April last year has been billed as the best chance ever for normal ties between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
But euphoria at a January meeting between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, and an Indian cricket tour of Pakistan, has faded as people focus more on Kashmir, the source of decades of hostility between the two countries.
“We are reaching the point now where they need to begin to demonstrate they are making progress on Kashmir, or it remains the one thing left undone,” said a Western diplomat in Islamabad.
Officials have cautioned against unfounded optimism, and insist that a gradual approach offers the best chance of success. Natwar and Kasuri are unlikely to achieve any breakthrough during what is essentially another “get to know you” session next week.
Natwar is due to meet Musharraf in Islamabad and a formal meeting between the foreign ministers is set for Aug. 25.
Talks on issues including water-sharing, the Siachen Glacier battlefield, where more troops die of cold than enemy fire, and economic cooperation will be held before then.
But Pakistan insists on keeping Kashmir at the heart of the process, even though it may mean tackling contentious issues, such as sovereignty.
