India and Pakistan seek fresh start

By Sanjoy Majumder BBC News Online South Asia correspondent

The leaders' talks have been cloaked in secrecy

The announcement of joint talks over Kashmir raises hopes of an end to nearly three years of hostility between Pakistan and India.

The agreement came the day after breakthrough talks between the two countries' leaders.

In addition, senior officials from both sides, including the national security advisers and foreign ministers, held separate meetings.

Officials of both countries, which came close to all-out war in 2002, have been keeping their cards close to their chest.

But Pakistan's Information Minister, Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, told Indian television that all issues - including Kashmir and terrorism - had been discussed.

It appears that both sides are trying to find middle ground before proceeding further.

'Sensitive' matters

India's Foreign Minister, Yashwant Sinha, was candid on the need to cloak the details of what was discussed in secrecy.

"In a matter as sensitive as this, anyone who says anything more at this stage would not be doing any service to the cause," he told journalists in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad.

Both sides have reason to be circumspect.

In the summer of 2001, Pakistani leader General Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee held a summit meeting at the historic Indian city of Agra.

Over several days of drama, it appeared that the two sides were close to some kind of an agreement on how to move forward, particularly on the long-festering Kashmir dispute.

But after a couple of indiscreet media briefings, the process fell apart.

Finding a way

India and Pakistan have learnt something else from that bitter experience.

Both sides are keen to move forward on the Kashmir issue

The Agra summit took place with little preparation from both sides.

That has changed this time round.

Diplomats from both sides have been working behind the scenes, laying the groundwork for the Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting.

Indian National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, one of Mr Vajpayee's key aides, flew into Islamabad a few days ahead of the prime minister.

Mr Mishra has acquired the reputation of being Mr Vajpayee's leading negotiator, helping improve India's ties with both the United States and China.

His presence in Islamabad indicated to some that the two sides were ready to find a way out of the tangled web of India-Pakistan relations.

Booking place in history

Both Mr Vajpayee and General Musharraf will be keen on taking something positive out of Monday's talks and Tuesday's agreement.

The two leaders have recently overcome political hurdles and now operate from positions of strength.

Both appear to want to go down in history as men of peace.

The Indian premier will be keen on using the rapprochement with Pakistan as part of his campaign for re-election in general elections widely expected to be held in April.

General Musharraf, for his part, will want to undercut hardliners within his country by reassuring Pakistanis that he has their best interests at heart and will not concede ground to the Indians, particularly over Kashmir.

It will require much political and diplomatic skill from both leaders, but they have indicated that they are willing to take risks to reap the benefits of the peace dividend.