India, Pakistan sign pact on access to prisoners

Pakistan and India signed a pact Wednesday granting consular access to prisoners in each other's jails but reported no significant progress in negotiations on the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Foreign ministers of the nuclear-armed neighbors on Wednesday held their first round of peace talks since a new civilian government took power in Pakistan seven weeks ago.

India's Pranab Mukherjee said that in his discussions with Pakistani leaders in Islamabad he "found a strong willingness and desire on the Pakistan side to move ahead toward full normalization of our relationship."

At the same news conference, Pakistan's Shah Mehmood Qureshi said it was in the "common interest" of both countries to continue the dialogue initiated in early 2004 - during the rule of President Pervez Musharraf. He said it had benefited people on both sides.

But Qureshi said despite positive developments - including growing bilateral trade now worth US$2 billion annually - "we have not made significant progress on our core issues."

He specifically referred to their dispute over Kashmir - the divided Himalayan enclave that is claimed in its entirety by both countries and over which they have fought two of their three wars since winning independence 60 years ago.

In a sign of how tensions have eased between longtime enemies, the sides signed an agreement granting consular access to prisoners in each other's jails.

And on Tuesday, Pakistan announced it would release nearly 100 Indian prisoners in a goodwill gesture.

Qureshi said that a fresh round of the peace talks - covering issues including Kashmir, the military standoff at the high-altitude Siachen Glacier, terrorism and drug trafficking, and economic cooperation - would start in July.

Mukherjee said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had accepted an invitation to visit Pakistan. Qureshi said the visit would take place this year.