India plan moves to peace with Pakistan

NEW DELHI - India unveiled major proposals Wednesday to improve relations with Pakistan, expanding travel and reuniting families. Pakistan saw some positive elements but expressed disappointment the steps fail to include negotiations with Islamabad on Kashmir.

Although formal talks between the leaders of the two South Asian nations are still off, the proposals cover human concerns such as allowing athletes to compete in India-Pakistan cricket matches and letting fishermen go about their trade without fear of arrest.

The pronouncements by Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha were the most extensive efforts so far to heal the wounds from a December 2001 attack on India's parliament complex. New Delhi blamed Pakistani-based militants for the attack, which killed 14 people, and insisted Islamabad's spy agency was behind the plot.

They were also seen here as a move to jump-start Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's stalled peace initiative with Pakistan ahead of elections next year and seal his legacy as the man who renewed their friendship.

The travel proposals include the resumption of air and rail links, and running buses between the capitals of Kashmir, the Himalayan territory divided between the two South Asian rivals and a flashpoint for two of their past wars.

In Washington, State Department spokesman Adam Ereli welcomed the proposals, saying: "They represent a major step toward establishing normal links between these two important neighbors and for providing a foundation for real progress in resolving differences between India and Pakistan."

The Indian government also announced that for the first time in 13 years, it would meet with members of the separatist movement in India's portion of Kashmir, the country's only Muslim-majority state. But it did not offer to negotiate the issue with Pakistan - which the Islamabad government has long sought.

In Islamabad, a Pakistani Foreign Ministry statement said the proposals to restore travel links, sports competitions and other people-to-people initiatives would be given serious consideration.

But it added that Islamabad was "disappointed" that India still refused to discuss Kashmir.

India has long insisted that the way to peace with Pakistan is through a step-by-step process that involves normalizing trade and people-to-people contacts, before tackling Kashmir. Islamabad insists Kashmir is the central issue, and other disputes would easily be resolved after the major sore point is settled.

The militants in India's part of Kashmir have been fighting for the northern state's independence or merger with Pakistan since 1989, an insurgency that has cost more than 63,000 lives.

India accuses Pakistan of maintaining rebel camps on its territory and helping to arm and sneak them across the Line of Control, claims that Islamabad denies.

Sinha said Wednesday that Pakistan first had to take significant steps to end the infiltration of militants before dialogue on Kashmir could resume.

"No meaningful, productive . . . dialogue can be sustained with Pakistan if they carry on with cross-border terrorism as an instrument of state policy," he said.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times 490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 Contact the Times | Privacy Policy Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright