http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4455351.stm


_Rivals say peace 'irreversible'_

The leaders of India and Pakistan have said that peace between the two
nuclear rivals is "irreversible".
Manmohan Singh and Pervez Musharraf were speaking after signing a joint
statement that followed peace talks in the Indian capital, Delhi.

They have also agreed to increase trade and transport links between
Indian- and Pakistani-administered Kashmir aimed at solving the
long-running dispute.

The two sides embarked on a peace process in January last year.

President Musharraf left India for the Philippines after calling on
former Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Indian and Pakistani officials worked late into the night to finalise
the text of the statement that was released by the leaders on Monday.

In the joint statement the two sides agreed to:
set up a joint business council to improve trade
launch a rail link between the Indian state of Rajasthan and the
Pakistani province of Sindh by 1 January 2006
increase the frequency of the bus service across divided Kashmir
launched on 7 April
allow trucks to use this route to promote trade
open a new bus link between Poonch in Indian Kashmir and Rawalakot in
Pakistani Kashmir
reopen consulates in Mumbai (Bombay) and Karachi by the end of the year
begin a bus service between Amritsar and Lahore

Both sides also pledged not to let militant attacks impede the peace
process.

"[We are] conscious of the historic opportunity created by the improved
environment in relations and the overwhelming desire of the peoples of
the two countries for durable peace," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
said.

Earlier, President Musharraf said the talks had been more successful
than he had expected. He said the Kashmir dispute would have to be
solved amicably.

But he added that the Line of Control dividing Kashmir could not be
accepted as a final solution to the dispute over the region.

India and Pakistan have gone to war twice over Kashmir, a territory
which both sides claim.

Speaking to Indian editors over breakfast on Monday, President Musharraf
said military solutions were "not the option anymore".

"The world has changed, especially after 9/11," he said.

He also said only the leaders of the two countries, rather than
diplomats and officials, could find a solution to Kashmir.

On Sunday, President Musharraf met separatist leaders from
Indian-administered Kashmir.

"We support the measures, but we believe this is an incomplete process,"
separatist leader Mirwaiz Omar Farooq told journalists after the
meeting.

The separatists have said they want to be included in the peace process.


Militant groups fighing Indian rule in Kashmir accused President
Musharraf of selling out and betraying Muslims in the territory.


_Cricket diplomacy_

Also on Sunday, the two leaders watched the start of the final one-day
international cricket match between India and Pakistan.

The match was eventually won by Pakistan.

Mr Singh presented the president with a painting of his childhood home
in Delhi.

In turn, President Musharraf gave the Indian prime minister a copy of
his birth certificate and photographs from the village in Pakistan where
he was born.

It was President Musharraf's first visit to India since a failed summit
in 2001.

The trip followed a year of peace talks, which the week before last saw
the first buses in nearly 60 years cross divided Kashmir.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/world/south_asia/4455351.stm

Published: 2005/04/18 08:04:35 GMT

C BBC MMV



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