Pakistan's prime minister matches Indian peace moves

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan restored transportation links and full diplomatic ties with rival India on Tuesday, and pressed for peace talks to include discussion of the two countries' nuclear arsenals.

Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali also said he hoped the South Asian rivals could resolve their decades-long differences over Kashmir, the divided Himalayan region that has been the cause of two wars between them.

"I am hopeful a good solid solution should be coming forward on all issues, of course including the Jammu and Kashmir issue," Jamali said, referring to the disputed territory.

Tensions between the neighbors have worried the international community because both possess nuclear weapons. Jamali called Tuesday for "serious discussion for nuclear and strategic stability in our region."

There was no immediate reaction from New Delhi to Tuesday's developments.

Besides announcing the resumption of cross-border air, bus and train service, Jamali said he wanted the two nations to reopen sporting ties. Except for a World Cup game in March, Pakistan and India have not played a cricket match since 2000.

Jamali also sought to increase trade between the two countries by reducing customs and tariffs on more than 70 unspecified items.

Releasing fishermen

The prime minister also said Pakistan, as a goodwill gesture, would release dozens of Indian fishermen held for illegally entering Pakistani waters. Both Pakistan and India routinely arrest each other's fishermen.

Jamali said he favored a tiered approach to negotiations with India, with the ultimate goal being a summit between the nations' leaders.

"It is my hope that India will seize the moment and put aside the acrimony of the past," he said at a news conference in the capital, Islamabad.

The thaw comes ahead of talks Thursday in Islamabad between Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Pakistani leaders, including Jamali and Pakistan's military president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf. Armitage also will visit India.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee launched the peace overtures during a visit to Indian-ruled Kashmir last week, saying he wanted talks with Pakistan. Jamali then called Vajpayee -- the first top-level contact in more than two years. He has offered to go to India or have Vajpayee come to Pakistan for talks the India leader says will be "decisive."

Pakistan and India declared themselves nuclear powers after detonating atomic bombs in 1998. They have not opened their arsenals to international inspectors and it is not known exactly how many weapons they have.

Divided over Kashmir

But the core of their dispute is Kashmir, divided between Muslim Pakistan and Hindu India since the countries became independent from Britain in 1947, but claimed by both countries in its entirety.

An insurgency in India's part of Kashmir seeking independence for the mostly Muslim region or its merger with Pakistan has left 61,000 people dead, most of them civilians, since it began in 1989.

Pakistan wants a plebiscite by Kashmiris on both sides of the disputed border to decide whether a united Kashmir should join India or Pakistan. India refuses and also accuses Pakistan of supporting militants who cross into Indian Kashmir from Pakistan to launch attacks.

Islamabad denies that, and Jamali was vague when asked what made him optimistic talks would succeed now where previous initiatives failed.

Pakistani and Indian official resist the idea that outside pressure -- especially from the United States -- has sparked moves toward reconciliation.

On Tuesday, Jamali reiterated Pakistan's solidarity with its "brothers and sisters" in Kashmir. But he also said the moment has come to tackle a "scourge" on the nation.

"The entire international community is watching with hope and expectation," he said, adding that: "The Pakistani people need relief. That is my faith and my belief."