Pakistan, India set peace 'roadmap'

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistan and India laid out an aggressive timetable for peace talks on a wide-range of topics, including the hot-button issue of Kashmir and confidence-building measures regarding their nuclear arsenals, Pakistan's representative at the talks said Wednesday.\nA series of midlevel meetings will begin directly after the Indian elections in April, culminating in a summit between Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri and Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha in August.\n"We do have a basic roadmap for a Pakistan-India peace process to which we have both agreed," Pakistani Foreign Secretary Riaz Khokhar told a press conference at the conclusion of the talks.\nEven before the Indian elections, technical-level talks will be held on transport links and other issues, Khokhar said after a face-to-face meeting with his Indian counterpart, Shashank, who goes by only one name. The two foreign secretaries will meet again in May or June, Khokhar said.\nKhokhar urged patience but expressed optimism that the talks would yield results.\n"We feel that the atmosphere is much better," Khokhar said. "There is a realization on both sides that war is not an option."\nIn New Delhi, Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said both sides had a "sincere desire to discuss and arrive at a peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir."\nThe exact dates and locations for the talks have yet to be worked out, he said.\nPakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf broke news of the breakthrough in a speech earlier Wednesday at a conference of Islamic clerics. Musharraf told the clerics he would never sell out the Kashmiri people, but a peaceful solution was a must.\n"I am hopeful that a solution for Kashmir, in accordance with the wishes of Kahsmiris, will be found," he said. "If there is no solution according to the wishes of Kashmiris then no solution will be found."\nThe speech was greeted with shouts of "Long Live Musharraf!" and "God is Great!"\nA deal on the timetable was reached Tuesday, but specifics were withheld until Wednesday. The delay in the next high-level meeting is largely due to desires to hold the controversial issues until after Indians go to the polls in April.\nIndian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is expected to win the vote and continue the dialogue.