Reax to meeting of leaders in New York

(25 Sep 2004) New Delhi, India - 25 September 2004 1. Various of newspaper front pages on Musharraf-Manmohan meeting 2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vox pop: "Both the countries have realised that it is the peace which is going to work between them, not the small, you know - they have stalled the dispute and they have to build themselves as good economic powers, and I am sure that this time both of them will definitely help them further marching toward the peace." 3. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vox pop: "It's too premature to expect results immediately. It will take time. Peace is a very - I mean, peace - people think it's an easy thing to achieve. It is not. It takes effort, it takes guts to establish peace." Near Line of Control, Jammu-Kashmir - Recent 4. Various of soldier standing near Line of Control dividing Kashmir 5. River with snow-capped mountains on all sides 6. Fence along mountain ridge New Delhi, India - 25 September, 2004 7. SOUNDBITE: (English) C. Raja Mohan, Jawahar Lal Nehru University: "I think Manmohan Singh's characterisation of the meeting as historic and the beginning of a new chapter in the relations, I think, seems an accurate one. It's not often that the top leaders of India and Pakistan have discussed the final solutions to the Kashmir dispute. Not since the Shimla Agreement of 1972 has there been such an intensive discussion of the potential ways in which we could settle this issue. Second, I think, you saw the joint statement. It refers to restoration of full normalcy and cooperative relationship. That again, because of Pakistan's insistence that (during) the Kashmir dispute there's been a holding back by Pakistan on issues relating to economic cooperation. So, now what we are looking at is a push towards an actual negotiation for the first time on resolving the Kashmir dispute and in the interim, a violence-free environment will be maintained." Srinagar, Jammu-Kashmir - Recent 8. Kashmiri houseboats lined along Dal lake 9. People on street 10. Various of soldier guarding Dal lake STORYLINE: With leaders of nuclear-armed India and Pakistan pledging to work towards seeking peace in the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, people in India woke up on Saturday to newspaper headlines proclaiming the meeting as historic and optimistic. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf met on Friday in New York for the first time since Singh took power in May. Dialogue between the two countries started again in January when Musharraf met with Singh's predecessor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. In a joint statement, the leaders reiterated their commitment to continued bilateral talks and to implementing confidence-building measures. Musharraf and Singh also agreed that "possible options for a peaceful, negotiated settlement" of their dispute over the divided territory of Kashmir "should be explored in a sincere spirit and purposeful manner." Since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two over Kashmir, which is divided by a 1972 cease-fire line called the Line of Control. India's portion, Jammu-Kashmir, has been wracked since 1989 by an insurrection by Islamic separatists seeking independence or union with Pakistan. C. Raja Mohan, a South Asia policy analyst at New Delhi's Jawahar lal Nehru University, said the friendly tone of the meeting was a positive sign and that for the first time the two leaders had discussed options on how to resolve the Kashmir dispute. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...