NEW YORK/NEW DELHI: India’s prime minister met with Pakistan’s president at the UN in New York and both agreed to boost a faltering peace process between the nuclear-armed neighbors, a joint statement said yesterday.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Asif Ali Zardari held discussions on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. “Both leaders acknowledged that the peace process has been under strain in recent months,” the statement said.
“They agreed that violence, hostility and terrorism have no place in the vision they share of the bilateral relationship, and must be visibly and verifiably prevented.”
The two leaders agreed that their foreign secretaries “will schedule meetings of the fifth round of the composite dialogue in the next three months,” a joint statement said after the summit on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The composite dialogue, which has made significant progress since it was launched in 2004, has been stalled for months due to political turmoil in Pakistan. The fourth round was completed last October.
Singh and Zardari also decided to launch trading between the divided zones of the disputed Kashmir region from October 21.
In their first discussions since Zardari replaced former military strongman Pervez Musharraf in August, the two leaders also called for an ongoing cease-fire to be “stabilized.”
Two trade routes across a de facto border in Kashmir, the Himalayan region divided between the two rivals, will open Oct. 21 to help improve ties, it said. The two sides also agreed that foreign secretaries from both sides would meet in the next three months.
From Oct. 21, trade routes would open between Srinagar and Poonch in Indian Kashmir and Muzaffarbad and Rawalkot in Pakistan, the statement said. A third route between Kargil and Skardu will also be discussed.
During recent protests in Indian-controlled Kashmir, demand for trade between the two portions became a major issue after Hindu groups blockaded major roads leading to the rest of India, causing shortages of food and medicine. India and Pakistan allow only a passenger bus service twice a month across the Line of Control.
The leaders agreed that a special meeting of a joint anti-terror mechanism be held next month to address “mutual concerns,” including the bombing of the embassy, the statement said.
Both acknowledged that “the peace process has been under strain in recent months,” the statement said. “They agreed that violence, hostility and terrorism have no place in the vision they share of the bilateral relationship, and must be visibly and verifiably prevented,” it said.
Singh and Zardari appeared satisfied as they emerged from the meeting. In brief remarks, Singh praised Zardari’s vision for a progressive South Asia, saying they decided that issues be resolved through “peaceful” means. Zardari called Singh the “architect of modern India,” saying, “I hope to learn from him.”
The meeting helped eased tensions, officials from both sides said. “The leaders met for well over an hour, spent most of their time without aides and had a comprehensive discussion of the entire realm of issues in our relationship,” Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon told reporters in New York
Singh was to meet with President George W. Bush at the White House yesterday as the two leaders tried to rally vital congressional support for a civilian nuclear agreement between their countries. Congressional approval of the deal was in question as proponents in Congress scrambled to win approval before lawmakers wrap up this year’s session to campaign for November’s elections.
