India, Pakistan aim to nudge peace process forward

  India and Pakistan begin peace talks on Thursday, an important safety valve between two nuclear-armed countries which the United States hopes will help stabilise the region as it prepares to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

But after many false starts, hopes were being kept deliberately low for the two days of talks between the Indian foreign secretary, Nirupama Rao, and her Pakistani counterpart, Salman Bashir.

       ‘We have realistic expectations,’ an Indian government source said. ‘We should not expect quick and dramatic resolutions.’

       With the India-Pakistan rivalry often spilling into Afghanistan, the United States and its allies are hoping the peace process will gather pace in tandem with plans to gradually withdraw western troops ahead of a 2014 deadline.

       The president, Barack Obama, is due to announce the first of a phased withdrawal of US troops later on Wednesday.

       During the talks, the foreign secretaries will discuss Kashmir, the disputed territory which has bitterly divided India and Pakistan since independence in 1947.

       Pakistan and India, which have fought three full-scale wars since independence, two over Kashmir, resumed a formal peace process in February, broken off after the November 2008 attack on Mumbai by Pakistan-based militants which killed 166 people.

       Any sudden crisis between the two — for example if another Mumbai-style attack triggered a military confrontation — could further destabilize Afghanistan and Pakistan.

       Given the importance of India’s growing economy, it would also send shock waves around fragile markets worldwide.