New Delhi, India -- India and Pakistan are set to open a new round of talks this week in the latest attempt by the Asian rivals to build mutual trust.
No breakthroughs are expected in the bitter disputes that divide the nuclear neighbors, but some progress might come in the area of Kashmiri trade.
On her arrival in India Tuesday, Pakistan's Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar struck an optimistic note about the prospects of relations between the neighbors.
"(I) hope that these two countries will have learned lessons from history, but are not burdened by history and we can move forward, forge forward as good friendly neighbors, who have a stake in each others' future and who understand the responsibility that both the countries have to the region and within the region," she said, a day before her meeting with her Indian counterpart S.M. Krishna.
Top bureaucrats from the two sides were in discussions in the Indian capital, New Delhi, ahead of Wednesday's talks. Indian and Pakistani officials have exchanged ideas on how to improve trade and travel across Kashmir -- the disputed region divided between the countries.
The current three-year agreement involves 21 locally made items, but business groups have been demanding expansion in the list of products. They'd also like to see an introduction of banking facilities, and improvements in communications and infrastructure.
Her appearance appeared to vindicate Pakistan President Asif Zardari's decision to nominate her as foreign minister in the hope that it would "send positive signals about the soft image of Pakistan."
Her own comments on a "mindset change" and a "new era in bilateral co-operation between the countries" reflected the same theme.
"A new generation of Indians and Pakistanis will see a relationship that will hopefully be much different from the one that has been experienced in the last two decades," she said.
India and Pakistan have fought four wars and they came close to a fifth in the months following the 2008 Mumbai attacks when Pakistani commando-style militants killed 166 in a three day rampage. Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, later accused elements of Pakistan's security forces of supporting the terrorists. Since then tensions have flared over Pakistan's failure to convict the terrorist masterminds or to rein in militant leaders calling for 'jihad' against India.
Yesterday's talks did not produce a breakthrough on Kashmir, but agreed a series of confidence-building measures to double trade over the Line of Control, relax controls on travel, and increase sporting and cultural ties.
They agreed to strengthen co-operation against terrorism and "reiterated the firm and undiluted commitment of the two countries to fight and eliminate this scourge in all its forms and manifestations." They would also co-operate to "bring those responsible for terror crimes to justice."
The ministers also agreed to convene a meeting of each country's nuclear experts to reduce tensions and to resolve their disputes over control of the Siachen glacier and the Sir Creek.
Mirwaiz Farooq, the moderate Kashmiri Separatist leader who met Ms Khar in New Delhi ahead of the talks, said he was disappointed there was no time frame for the new talks on the Kashmir, but welcomed the role Ms Khar had played.
"Here's a minister from Pakistan, young, educated, articulate and she brings something fresh to the table," he said.
Seema Goswami, a leading Indian social commentator, however said she feared Ms Khar's style and glamour could put India at a disadvantage.
"She's incredibly young pretty, glamorous and has no fear of appearing flash. She wore pearls when she arrived and diamonds for the talks," she said. "We're so obsessed with her designer bag and clothes that we forget she first held talks with the Hurriyat Kashmiri separatists. She could be Pakistan's new weapon of mass destruction.
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