At last, what looks like a breakthrough in the long quest for peace by India and Pakistan. On February 16th in Islamabad, India's foreign minister, Natwar Singh, and his Pakistani counterpart, Khur-shid Kasuri, agreed to "impart momentum" to an ineffably tedious "composite dialogue" started a year ago. But this time there was some substance to the waffle. Most significantly, they agreed to open, from April 7th, a bus route between Srina-gar, the capital of Indian-held Kashmir, and Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-held Kashmir. The agreement is important in two ways. First, it offers Kashmiris, the real victims of the two nations' squabble over their homeland, something many have longed for. The road linking the two Kashmiri capitals was closed after the first of three wars over Kashmir in 1947-48. Kashmiri families were divided, homes destroyed and centuries-old trade routes blocked. When the reopening of bus links was mooted in late 2003, road signs were swiftly erected in Srinagar, pointing to Muzaffarabad. It was a moment of hope.
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