The meeting of senior Indian and Pakistani military officials to reduce tensions on the LoC was important due to the "symbolism and value" attached to it, a leading Pakistani daily said today.
Such "meetings can be used for making the point that skirmishes on the border are more a result of some, largely misunderstood, military manoeuvre and not reflective of national policies," the influential Dawn newspaper said in an editorial.
The Directors General of Military Operations (DGMOs) of the two sides met yesterday for the first time in 14 years and agreed to boost existing mechanisms to maintain the 2003 ceasefire on the Line of Control (LoC).
The editorial titled "A meeting to clear the air" further said the meeting of the two generals at Wagah was significant because it would "improve understanding between men who, responsible for minding frontiers that have been the venue and source of sudden tensions gripping the two nations, are in the thick of it".
The crucial meeting was a follow-up to talks between Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and Nawaz Sharif in New York in September.
Besides steps to maintain the truce on the LoC, the DGMOs agreed to make their hotline contact more effective and result-oriented and to inform each other if any civilians inadvertently cross the LoC to ensure their early return.
The editorial said the scope of such meetings can be broadened in future to create space for diplomats, though India refused to include them in the current meeting.
It also said Pakistan was making an effort to expand the dialogue and trying to accelerate the peace process.
The meeting took place after the worst clashes on the LoC since the two sides agreed to a ceasefire in 2003.
The editorial also described yesterday's meeting as a "positive exchange" and "a milestone in the normalisation process" between the two countries.
