ISLAMABAD, Feb 11: Pakistan and India are likely to achieve a major breakthrough on the proposed Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service at their foreign minister-level talks to be held here early next week, it is learnt.
There are strong indications from New Delhi that Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh's first visit here will augur well for the stalled Kashmir bus service.
Informed sources told Dawn that optimism regarding a breakthrough at the foreign minister-level talks stemmed from the reported intervention at the highest political level on both sides. Apparently, President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh have both intervened to resolve the differences over the bus issue.
"The political track and the backchannel worked on it to make a go of it," well-placed sources said. President Musharraf is known to have conveyed to the Indians that the bus service between Kashmiris should not be restricted only to Srinagar-Muzaffarabad routes and more routes should be opened.
Evidently, the focus being on providing the Kashmiris on both sides of the divide with an opportunity to meet but without the use of passport and visas. The clear signals from insiders in New Delhi about the bus service getting the green light on Friday were also matched by a measure of confidence in Islamabad's informed circles.
If this happens it will show where the ultimate breakthroughs come from - at the top political level. Meanwhile, the word from across the border is that the Indian leadership is keen to take positive steps to show some tangible headway in the peace process, particularly in the backdrop of its dispute with Pakistan over the Baglihar dam.
Indian media has reported that 'peace' would top Mr Natwar Singh's agenda in Pakistan. Expectations are particularly high in the Indian circles on the formalization of pre-notification of ballistic missiles' flight testing between the two countries. A 30-member strong Indian media team, which includes editors of some leading newspapers, is coming here to cover Mr Natwar Singh's visit.
