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Tourism and a cross-border bus program meant to foster peace
in the region have stalled in the waking of the Mumbai bombings. See story from Christian
Science Monitor
When militants launched a brazen raid on India's Parliament in 2001, relations between India and Pakistan went into a tailspin that nearly ended in a fourth war between the nuclear rivals. But the Indian response was markedly different following a series of bombings in New Delhi over the weekend that killed more than 50 people. Just hours after the attack, the Indian government struck an unprecedented accord with Pakistan to open parts of the Line of Control, the de facto border that divides the contested Kashmir region. The surprise move sends a powerful message that India and Pakistan won't let extremists derail an increasingly substantial peace process. The scale of the earthquake disaster in Pakistan has certainly softened positions, but analysts also credit the latest breakthrough to the growing momentum of the negotiations over the past 21 months. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Spurred by an overwhelming popular sentiment for peace, India and Pakistan continue to make significant progress toward abandoning hostilities and toward compromising disputes. See story from Christian Science Monitor
India's prime minister ordered a reduction in the number of troops in the disputed Muslim-majority state of Kashmir, breathing new life into a peace process with Pakistan. See story from The Guardian
Pakistan and India renewed vows to settle their dispute over Kashmir , the issue at the heart of decades of hostilities, and pledged to combat terrorism. See story from Reuters
Analysts say the most difficult issues involved in the Kashmir dispute are far from resolution. See story from Christian Science Monitor
Indian and Pakistani officials met in Islamabad for their first formal talks in nearly three years. It was be the beginning of a long and winding process towards building peace. Both countries have burnt their fingers badly in the past with overhyped and failed talks, swiftly followed by the familiar and tiresome blame game over the border. This time, the talks are low-key, more media-managed, even boring - and appear to have a much better chance of pushing forward the peace process. See story from BBC
The world has seen many false peaks in the infrequent trek of India and Pakistan to settle the Himalayan-size issue of Kashmir. Leaders of both nations have often found more reasons not to budge than to create a peaceful South Asia for their 1.2 billion people and to bury the threat of nuclear confrontation. Despite past failures, however, the recent agreement between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to resume talks comes with unusually high hopes, mainly because the political climate is now so improved. See story from Christian Science Monitor
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