Kashmir talks: View from Islamabad

By Zaffar Abbas BBC correspondent in Islamabad

There is an eerie feeling in Pakistan that, instead of going forward, the peace process with India is going round in circles.

Travel between the disputed territories is a key issue

So will the impending talks in Delhi between the foreign ministers of Pakistan and India break that mood?

Until now, most Pakistanis have been convinced that the process started in January with a landmark meeting between President Pervez Musharraf and the then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee cannot be derailed easily.

At the same time, no one has been expecting breakthrough this early in these negotiations - and certainly not in the present meeting between Pakistan's Khursheed Mahmud Kasuri and his host, Natwar Singh.

But still there is a growing feeling in Pakistan that the inflexible positions maintained by the two sides on lesser issues make the task of resolving the main disputes extremely difficult.

Those lesser issues include the demilitarisation of the remote Siachen Glacier and what travel documents passengers should carry for the proposed bus service linking the capitals of Pakistani and Indian-administered Kashmir.

Peace benefits

This certainly does not mean there is no realisation about the dividend from the relative peace between the two South Asian adversaries.

Everyone has been pleased that the guns have continued to remain silent along the Line of Control in Kashmir.

Most people in Pakistan-administered Kashmir are eagerly waiting for the start of the proposed bus service.

The talks got off to a good start

As a result, the people-to-people contact has been given a new boost, and cultural exchanges have increased tremendously.

But for most senior officials in the Pakistani foreign ministry, and for that matter any other section of the government, these developments cannot be construed as a step forward in normalising relations between countries who have a history of fighting three wars.

In fact, the so-called hawks among the officials and intelligentsia have gradually started to push the idea that the nascent peace process was a non-starter.

Different positions

However, the majority are still not prepared to take such a pessimistic view. But they have been surprised by the slow pace of the talks since January.

They are also dismayed by the sudden rise in rhetoric, particularly on the issue of cross-border infiltration of insurgents.

However, Pakistan-based analysts say the more disturbing issue is the lack of seriousness shown by the two sides in addressing some of the critical issues.

They say India has focused on encouraging confidence building measures (CBMs) and downplayed the significance of the real disputes.

In contrast, Pakistan wants a more serious discussion on the outstanding disputes and sees the CBMs as an attempt to divert attention from the real issues.

Resolution of some of the tricky disputes between the two countries, such as Kashmir, may take years.

Analysts say the first clear indication of their seriousness to take the process forward would come when the two sides agree on demilitarising the Siachen glacier, or more importantly, agree on the travel documentation for starting the Kashmir bus service between the two sides.

Analysts say at the moment the two sides have been trying to reinforce their respective positions on Kashmir through the travel document issue.

Delhi wants the Kashmiris living on the two sides to travel across the United Nations-established Line of Control on passports issued by their respective governments.

Pakistan believes it is an attempt to make the Line of Control a permanent border, and insist on either a UN travel permit or some other document to highlight that it is a disputed region.

Perhaps the two foreign ministers can try and rise above their stated positions to agree on a mutually acceptable travel document.

Until then, members of divided Kashmiri families will have to wait for that long-cherished bus ride.

And people in Islamabad will still believe that the peace process started with such fanfare in January is going round in circles, not forward.