Peace 'Irreversible'; India, Pakistan Soften on Kashmir
Mon Apr 18, 2005 07:01 AM ET
By Terry Friel and Kamil Zaheer

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Declaring their peace process irreversible, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan agreed Monday to open up the militarized frontier dividing Kashmir, capping a visit to New Delhi by President Pervez Musharraf.

In a significant coming together, Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said they would work toward a "soft border" in Kashmir, opening meeting points for divided families and boosting trade, travel and cooperation across the frontier.

Reading a joint statement as he stood next to Musharraf, Singh said the two, "conscious of the historic opportunity created by the improved relations and the overwhelming desire of the peoples of the two countries for durable peace...determined that the peace process was now irreversible."

But while the agreement on the approach was a breakthrough, there was, as expected, no major progress toward a final solution on Kashmir, at the heart of half a century of hostility and which almost sparked a fourth war in 2002.

"This is what I call going toward a soft border," Musharraf had said earlier. "But a soft border is not a final solution."

The joint statement said terrorism would not be allowed to derail peace efforts and clearly warned Islamic separatists fighting Indian rule that neither side would tolerate attacks on a just-launched bus service uniting the divided Himalayan region.

The two leaders agreed to increase bus services across the cease-fire line and open the fenced and heavily guarded frontier, once dubbed the world's most dangerous flashpoint by the United States, to freight trucks and pilgrims.

"I think the outcome has been better than I expected," Musharraf, due in Manila later Monday, told reporters earlier.