India, Pakistan agree to disagree, cease fire

Perceptions differ, especially on terror export

No significant breakthrough in India-Pakistan relations was achi-eved by foreign ministers K Natwar Singh and Khurshid Ahmad Kasuri after their two-day talks, but despite differing on the issue of Kashmir and cross-border terrorism, the two sides agreed to continue the cease-fire, negotiate conventional and nuclear confidence-building measures and carry forward the composite dialogue process.

The two foreign ministers would meet again in December, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf would meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, technical discussion on the Munabao-Khokhrapar railway line would start in October-November and once Pakistan was shown properties other than Jinnah House in Mumbai, it would start the process to set up a consulate, the two sides said on Monday.

India and Pakistan also decided to run a special "day" bus between Amritsar and Lahore.

Negotiations on a proposed diesel pipeline between Jalandhar and Lahore did not progress beyond a commitment to talk further. Kasuri said as he was not the oil minister, he was not in a position to hold talks with Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar.

Aiyar, however, said he flagged the issue of export of diesel and other petroleum products like petrochemicals to Pakistan.

"We will work out the details when I meet the petroleum minister of Pakistan," he said. No time-frame for the meetings was announced. The only evidence that talks had moved forward was ironically, the acceptance that difference persisted. Natwar Singh conceded that perceptions differed, especially on cross-border infiltration.

Kasuri, standing by his side, said human rights in Kashmir continued to be of concern in Pakistan. But he said: "we are not unifocal" on Kashmir and Pakistan was not interested in discussing this issue alone. "We know we can cooperate in other areas. It is a matter of common sense that to have a durable peace in South Asia, this (J&K) issue will have to be resolved, hopefully sooner than later".

Although Kasuri's meeting with Hurriyat leaders and his statement that Kashmiris had to be involved in decisions relating to them did not make India happy, the Indian side decided not to make an issue of it.

Yesterday, when Kasuri had called on LK Advani, the latter explained that as terrorism was an issue affecting Pakistan as much as India, Islamabad should be sensitive to New Delhi's concerns.

Advani told Kasuri that though Pakistan was fighting al-Qayda along with the US, it needed to appreciate the fact that Lashkar-e-Taiyyaba was no different from al-Qayda in essence.

He said the Pakistan people must have shared with India, the revulsion against the killing of schoolchildren in Russia by Chechen rebels. He asked Pakistan to review its understanding of terrorism.