Rivals push peace process forward

Shashank (L) and Riaz Khokhar praised the "positive" talks

India and Pakistan have ended two days of bilateral talks with a series of measures aimed at consolidating their peace process.

In the talks in Delhi which ended on Monday they agreed to notify each other before testing missiles and to restore embassies to full strength.

The nations also said there would be more "sustained and serious" talks to resolve the dispute over Kashmir.

The territory, claimed by both sides, was the main focus of the talks.

Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar said he was "satisfied" after Monday's discussions with his Indian counterpart, Shashank.

Senior foreign ministry officials from both sides described the meeting as "positive".

Invitation

A joint statement released after the talks said: "The foreign secretaries... held a detailed exchange of views on Jammu and Kashmir and agreed to continue the sustained and serious dialogue to find a peaceful negotiated final settlement."

The talks were positive and constructive and geared towards forward movement Pakistan foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan

The foreign secretaries will meet again in August ahead of a scheduled meeting of foreign ministers in the same month.

The joint statement also carried an invitation from Pakistan for Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, President APJ Abdul Kalam and the governing Congress party leader, Sonia Gandhi, to visit Pakistan.

Other key points of the statement are:

• Agreement to conclude a system for the pre-notification of flight testing of missiles

• Respective High Commission staff to be restored immediately to original level of 110

• Consulates in Karachi and Bombay (Mumbai) to reopen

• All fishermen held prisoner by the two countries to be immediately released

• Steps taken for early release of civilian prisoners

The Bombay and Karachi consulates closed in 1994. Their reopening will make travel easier for divided families on either side of the border.

People in Karachi were delighted.

"It will be especially beneficial for people who have relatives in India. Now it will be easier for them to get a visa and they will be able to visit their nearest and dearest," one resident told the BBC Urdu service.

Pakistan's foreign ministry spokesman, Masood Khan, told Reuters news agency that Monday's meeting, which lasted just over an hour, had been "positive and constructive and geared towards forward movement".

Mr Khokhar also had a brief meeting with Mr Singh before leaving for home. He said Mr Singh had given him a message for Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Mr Singh said the foreign secretaries of the two countries had "positive discussions and concrete outcomes".

Hotline

The discussions are part of a series of meetings over the next few weeks, taking place amid a distinct improvement in relations between the two nations which have fought two wars over Kashmir since independence in 1947, and came close to conflict again two years ago.

The nations have fought two wars over Kashmir since 1947

A week ago the two sides agreed to set up a telephone hotline to alert each other of potential nuclear risks and prevent misunderstandings.

They also agreed to continue a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing that has been in place since 1998 - although with the proviso that tests could resume if either country believed "extraordinary events" threatened its interests.

The BBC's Paul Anderson in Islamabad says that for Pakistan, these latest talks were the first test of India's willingness, now under a Congress-led government, to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

Much-hyped peace negotiations three years ago failed over the wording on how to proceed on Kashmir.

It is unclear if the latest initiative will include Kashmiri separatists opposed to Indian rule.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali resigned on Saturday, but his departure was not expected to have any impact, as President Musharraf is generally considered to be in control of foreign policy.