Indian press applauds peace offer

Indian newspapers are upbeat at Delhi's dramatic new proposals to improve ties with Pakistan, but the mood across the border is more circumspect.

The Indian media sees the move by the government of Prime Minister Vajpayee as daring and bold.

In deference to the pain and memories of a homeland they have been afraid to call their own... senior citizens have been allowed to cross the border on foot The Indian Express

"The dozen radical proposals offer the promise of new beginnings," says The Indian Express, which says the stage is now set for a possible meeting between the leaders of both nations in January.

The Nation in Pakistan challenges this view, however, saying it was not a prelude to the January South Asian regional summit in Islamabad.

"Rather, these peace proposals are an alternative to Pakistan's demand to hold summit-level talks to resolve bilateral disputes," it quotes an analyst as saying.

The Dawn newspaper in Pakistan writes that India's move appears to have been prompted "by pressure from the international community, for going too slow on the peace process".

'Wiping tears of Partition'

The proposal that has caught the imagination of the Indian media above all others is the plan to link the two halves of the disputed region of Kashmir with a bus service.

"In political terms [it] is a minor earthquake because it enables Kashmiri families separated by 50 years of conflict to meet each other again," says The Asian Age.

The Express, which describes the proposals as "breathtaking" says they have the potential to "wipe some of the tears of Partition" - referring to the division of the subcontinent in 1947.

"In deference to the pain and memories of a homeland they have been afraid to call their own for 35 years, India's senior citizens have been allowed to cross the Attari-Wagah border on foot," it says.

For once, Indian diplomacy has Musharraf, the doctor of spin, caught in the web of its own making Hindustan Times

Some Indian newspapers see a design to cut the ground from under the feet of the Pakistani President, General Pervez Musharraf.

"The surprise Indian move [is] aimed at encouraging popular opinion against the general's bid to guide his people and the political class with a baton," writes the Hindustan Times in its lead.

It describes the Kashmir bus link as a "very potent PR weapon" since it proposes to link a state that both countries lay claim to in its entirety.

"In the event of its likely rejection, Musharraf will face opprobrium in Kashmir and on the world stage.

"For once, Indian diplomacy has Musharraf, the doctor of spin, caught in the web of its own making," the paper adds.

But The Nation says India's proposals lack substance and are not serious.

It is "aimed at gaining [a] morale boost internationally over its nuclear arch-rival following Pakistan declaring [the] peace process dead", it says.

Kashmir talks

The Indian media is far more sceptical on the simultaneous announcement by Delhi that Deputy Premier LK Advani will hold talks with the leading separatist alliance in Jammu and Kashmir.

The Hindustan Times says the move raises more questions than answers, adding that "with four imperatives for a successful peace dialogue missing there are doubts whether a breakthrough can be achieved".

These, the paper says, include:

• getting the support of the militants
• Pakistan's endorsement of the move
• participation of groups that favour independence
• the framework for the talks

But The Times of India argues that the decision to field Mr Advani seeks to kill several birds with one stone.

"First, it gets Advani on board the peace bus.

"He has been seen as a hardliner who has blocked peace efforts - the signal being sent now is that he is willing to be flexible."

It also ties down the party hardliners who have been sceptical of the prime minister's peace moves while placing the onus of success on Mr Advani, the paper says.

A vindication of Islamabad's stand that cricket should not be linked with politics between the two countries The Nation

The Indian Express offers a different spin on why Mr Vajpayee's government has taken these steps now - it describes them as "a grand BJP design".

"The party is in a hurry to try delivering on three fronts - Pakistan, J&K and Ayodhya," it says.

That would come in handy because the party favours going in for a snap poll if it wins three of the four states which are going to the polls in December.

The Pakistani media does find something to celebrate, however - the resumption of cricket ties.

"It is being seen as a vindication of Islamabad's stand that cricket should not be linked with politics between the two countries," concludes The Nation.