Technicalities Stall India-Pakistan Talks on Kashmir Bus Service

India and Pakistan hit a roadblock Wednesday in their months-long effort to open a bus route that both governments agree would be an important step toward bringing peace to the divided territory of Kashmir.

In 45 minutes of talks over lunch, Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, couldn’t resolve a dispute over technicalities that for months has blocked the proposed bus service across a 1972 cease-fire line, the Line of Control, that splits Kashmir between the two nations.

“In the meeting, we talked about the need for having a bus service, but we have to sort out the details of what travel documents will be required,” Aziz told reporters. “And we hope that that can be done in an amicable manner fairly soon.”

To reinforce its claim that the state of Jammu and Kashmir belongs to India, New Delhi has argued that bus travelers should carry passports. But Pakistan, where powerful Islamic parties accuse India of trying to permanently divide the territory, says passengers should cross with United Nations travel documents. The two countries’ foreign ministers are scheduled to meet early next month “and that is when these details will be sorted out,” Aziz said.

The road linking Muzaffarabad, the capital of the Pakistani-controlled portion of Kashmir, with Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, has been blocked since 1947, when the newly independent countries went to war over the Himalayan territory.

Indian authorities have begun repairs on the road. If the route is opened, it could reunite families separated for decades, facilitate new trade and reestablish cultural ties. Those who support reopening the road say easing travel would also help break down psychological barriers built by years of propaganda from both governments.

The dispute over Kashmir, a mainly Muslim territory with areas dominated by minority Hindus and Buddhists, has caused two of three wars between India and Pakistan. India, which has a Hindu majority, is fighting insurgents in Jammu and Kashmir who it says are trained and armed by predominantly Muslim Pakistan.

“The dialogue process will continue,” Aziz said. “Pakistan wants peace with its neighbors, and peace with India, and we want to settle all issues in a manner which is friendly and which helps our whole region grow.”

India and Pakistan have made it clear they are trying to make gradual progress in a peace process begun last year. Previous efforts collapsed after summits produced agreements that weren’t implemented.

But even the slower approach of seeking confidence-building measures, such as the Kashmir bus service, has proved difficult as negotiators get bogged down in technical disputes and frustrated politicians revert to hard-line rhetoric.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf wants India to move faster toward a solution to the conflict. He has survived several assassination attempts, and Aziz narrowly escaped one in July. They know the dangers could mount if Pakistanis lose faith in peace talks with India.

India gave Aziz a little ammunition to defend the talks back home by allowing him to meet Tuesday in New Delhi with Kashmiri separatist leaders from several factions. Local reports say he spent much of the time urging the factions to unite.

Musharraf recently suggested that he was willing to radically shift Pakistan’s position on Kashmir by dropping a demand for a binding referendum on the territory’s future.

Instead, Musharraf proposed possible solutions that included dividing the territory along ethnic, rather than religious, lines; demilitarizing some of those areas; and granting them autonomy or putting them under joint rule with India. Singh appeared to reject the suggestions, insisting that Jammu and Kashmir belonged to India and that the borders could not be redrawn.

Aziz tried to defuse the argument by assuring Singh that Musharraf’s proposals were intended to get Pakistanis talking about possible compromises.

“The options discussed by the president of Pakistan were merely a basis for discussion within Pakistan for debate on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir,” Aziz said Wednesday. “No proposals were ever presented to India, and no reaction was expected from India.

“We did talk about the essence of these proposals today, but more as a piece of information for the Indian prime minister of what we have in mind.”

Aziz ended talks without a deal on a proposed $4.2-billion pipeline that would bring natural gas from Iran to India through Pakistan.

Aziz said the pipeline would be built as far as Pakistan with or without India’s support, but he welcomed New Delhi’s participation so India could meet its own surging energy demand. India is pressing for a package deal that opens more trade and transportation links with Pakistan.