MARK CAREY

As published by MSNBC.com:

India, Pakistan to begin peace talks in February
‘History has been made,’ Musharraf says

MSNBC News Services
Updated: 1:04 p.m. ET Jan. 06, 2004

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - India and Pakistan took a giant leap to put more than a half-century of bloodshed behind them, agreeing Tuesday to start talks next month on core disputes of nationalism and religion that have taken the nuclear-armed nations into three wars.

The talks will touch on all topics, including the flashpoint issue of Kashmir, foreign ministers from both countries said in a joint statement.

“There are no winners or losers,” Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf said later. “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.”

Musharraf credited the deal to the “vision” and statesmanship of Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He said the two men sealed the agreement early Tuesday in a phone call following their historic face-to-face meeting a day earlier.

The surprise agreement followed two days of talks under the cover of a major South Asian regional summit that provided the impetus for Vajpayee’s visit to the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

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.

“The two leaders are confident that the resumption of the composite dialogue will lead to the peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, to the satisfaction of both sides,” Sinha said, reading from the joint declaration.

Eight issues
A high-ranking Indian officials 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 meetings between Vajpayee, Musharraf and Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Sunday and Monday were the first between Indian and Pakistani leaders in more than two years, and they occurred in an atmosphere of optimism after months of tit-for-tat steps to improve relations.

The two countries have called a cease-fire between their troops faced off in the mountain region of Kashmir, resumed high-level diplomatic ties and restored transportation links.

Kashmir clashes continue
However, in an indication of the difficulties ahead, nine people, including five Muslim rebels, were killed in clashes in Indian Kashmir Tuesday.

“I don’t trust these handshakes,” said Ashok Pundit, a leading Indian filmmaker and spokesman for a group representing thousands of Hindus forced to flee Kashmir by militant attacks.

“They are like a romantic couple -- one promising the moon to the other. But when reality dawns, they will be fighting against each other. Kashmir will never be resolved.”

But a Kashmiri separatist alliance welcomed the breakthrough. “We welcome the peace moves by the two countries. Now India and Pakistan have started seeing the people of Kashmir,” said Abdul Gani Bhat, spokesman of the All Parties Hurriyat (freedom) Conference, an umbrella organization of separatist groups.

Pakistani militants vow to keep fighting
Militants and Islamic hard-liners in Pakistan rejected the deal and the largest Hizbul mujahedeen group vowed to continue attacks on Indian security forces.

“We will continue our assaults,” said Syed Salahuddin, the head of Hizbul , the biggest pro-Pakistan Kashmiri guerrilla group fighting in Indian Kashmir.

“We will announce a cease-fire only if India accepts Kashmir as a disputed territory, promises to resolve the problem according to wishes of its people, frees all prisoners, stops its crackdown and withdraws its army to barracks,” said Salahuddin.

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training militants fighting in Indian Kashmir, and had refused to talk until it had evidence Pakistan was no longer backing “cross-border terrorism.”

Pakistan denies fueling the militancy and accuses India of major human rights abuses in Kashmir.

The joint statement said Musharraf had pledged to Vajpayee he would not let Pakistan’s territory be used for terrorism.

In his news conference Musharraf vowed not to let extremists sabotage any deal. “There will be a fallout from extremists,” he said. “There are extremists on both sides who may not want peace.”

The deal came on the heels of two assassination attempts against Musharraf in December from one of the groups Musharraf hopes to sideline. At least one of the assassination attempts was believed to be carried out by militants of Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamic militant group involved in the Kashmir fighting.

Musharraf, 60, has earned the wrath of militant groups since he backed the U.S.-led war to oust the hard-line Taliban in Afghanistan, and began a crackdown at home.

History of conflict
The South Asian giants fought wars in 1948, 1965 and 1971 and have engaged in many more deadly skirmishes. More than 1 million people are believed to have died during the 1947 partition of India and Pakistan after the subcontinent gained independence from Britain.

Tens of millions of Muslims migrated to the newly created Islamic Republic of Pakistan, while an equal number of Hindus left their belongings to migrate to predominantly Hindu India.

The main cause of their continued dispute is Kashmir, a predominantly Muslim region whose Hindu leader chose to become part of India. Pakistan has been demanding a referendum on the fate of the region ever since.