India Proposes Pakistan Peace Treaty

India's prime minister invited Pakistan on Friday to join his country in a "treaty of peace, security and friendship" to end nearly six decades of tension between the nuclear-armed nations.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appeared to be proposing an umbrella accord touching on many issues, including the dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

"I am convinced we can move forward, if all concerned are willing to accept the ground realities; if all concerned take a long view of history and our destiny," Singh said at a ceremony starting a new bus service between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan's foreign ministry welcomed the overture but stressed the need for taking "bold and sincere steps" to resolve Kashmir, which is divided between the two neighbors.

In Islamabad, Pakistan welcomed Singh's overture but stressed there would be little movement if the Kashmir issue was not resolved.

Kashmir is the root of the tension in the region, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Tasnim Aslam said, calling on India to take "bold and sincere steps to resolve the issue."

India made a similar offer to Pakistan in the mid-1980s, but Pakistan insisted the nations settle the Kashmir question before attempting other peace moves.

"It would be a mistake to link normalization of other relations with finding a solution (to Kashmir)," Singh said.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

In Kashmir, political groups urged Singh not to sideline the issue.

"Ignoring Kashmir or treating it only as militancy problem will not benefit anyone," said Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of an umbrella group of political parties advocating independence from India or a union with Pakistan.

"It is a political issue, and only a serious political process will resolve the situation."

• no previous page
• next

1/2