US welcomes India-Pakistan commitments as tangible breakthrough
Pakistan Times Foreign Desk Report

WASHINGTON (US): The United States has welcomed the commitments made by Pakistan and India and described these as "tangible breakthroughs."

In a comment on the statement issued by Pakistan's President General Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a senior State Department official said on Wednesday; "their peoples' hopes rest firmly on the steady progress of their leaders' discussions."

He said, "The United States welcomes the commitments made over the weekend by Pakistan and India, including proposals to enhance interaction and family reunification across the Line of Control, expand bus and truck transport between Pakistan and India, and promote cross-border trade."

The senior official said; "These tangible breakthroughs will allow for more extensive people-to-people contacts and will contribute to improved prosperity in both countries."

"The positive outcome of these latest talks show that the parties remain committed to increasing their engagement through the composite dialogue," he added.

The official said "the United States will support India and Pakistan as they make further progress in their negotiations."

Pakistani-American Community

Meanwhile, the Pakistani-American community has widely hailed the outcome of the Pakistan-India meeting and hoped the ongoing peace process would further consolidate.

In his comments, the visiting former foreign secretary of Bangladesh, Shafi Sami said that the outcome of the talks "seems to be remarkable," and that "it augurs well" for Pakistan and India and the South Asian region. "I wish, a real change of heart takes place," he added.

Groundbreaking Summit

In a commentary, the Christian Science Monitor (CSM) Wednesday termed the Delhi talks as "groundbreaking summit between India and Pakistan."

Titled 'A Sequel for India and Pakistan,' the Monitor observed that "India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who was born in what is today Pakistan, was given a photo of his home village. And Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf received a painting of his childhood home in Delhi."

It added that both Musharraf and Singh say they want "out of the box" solutions to end the bilateral rivalry.

"Joint cricket games have helped break the ice, as has the opening of a cross-border [LoC] bus route... And notably, the two leaders declared their steps toward peace - most of all, efforts to end the Kashmir territorial dispute.

"Conflict, so easily supported in the past by India and Pakistan, isn't as desirable to these two in an increasingly borderless, democratic world," the CSM added.●