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India-Pak Friendship & Peace Accord
 

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered a peace, security, and friendship accord to Pakistan and asked that country not to link Kashmir with this accord; Pakistan responded positively to this proposal but refused closer business ties.  Singh had offered the hand of friendship over the weekend when he flagged off the first ex-Amritsar bus to Pakistan saying that the peace process will "ultimately culminate" in such a treaty. 

The bus service is very significant as it links two of Sikhism's holiest shrines-- Golden Temple at Amritsar with Nankana Sahib in Pakistan, separated by the partition of India in 1947. The link also shows move to bring populations of the countries together and not only limited to Kashmir.

Besides, Singh said that some of the bilateral issues such as Balighar dam, Siachen, and Sir Creek can be solved quickly and that confidence can then be employed to bring understanding and trust Kashmir. He said all that was stopping the countries to reach agreement on these issues was "animosities and misgivings of the past." He insisted that a "strong, stable, prosperous, and 'moderate' Pakistan was in the interest of both India and South Asia." He also committed India to the "prosperity, unity, development, and well-being of Pakistan."
 

Complimenting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on his "bold steps to curb extremism," he said, "More needs to be done in the interest of both India and Pakistan." He called on Pakistan to "take a long view of history and our destiny" and "accept ground realities" to "think the unthinkable of moving forward."

Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmood Kasuri quickly responded appreciating Singh's "positive" remarks. However, Commerce Secretary Syed Asif Shah but in the same breadth said that it was not ready to grant India most-favored nation (MFN) status in its economic dealings and insisted that that MFN and opening other borders was dependent on progress on Kashmir. Essentially, this was a reiteration of their stated position. Only last week, Pakistan tried to wiggle out of its commitment to combat terrorism by asserting that India's most wanted, Dawood Ibrahim, was not living there when most intelligence agencies have confirmed Indian contention that he does live there.

Pakistan wants to solve the Kashmir issue first before normalization of relations while India wants to take smaller steps and solve easier issues to build trust and relationship to solve Kashmir. The Kashmir quagmire has serious legal and Constitutional import in India because of its accession to India, Parliament resolutions, and demographics of that State. Pakistan however has sought to divide Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and Northern Areas as distinct areas even refusing judicial verdict on their status. Moreover, it has illegally ceded areas known as Akasi Chin to China and hence there is an added dimension to the issue.