UN Secretary General Kofi Annan met Pakistan's military leader yesterday and stressed the need for dialogue between New Delhi and Islamabad to settle their bitter dispute over Kashmir.
But the talks did not appear to have brought the two nuclear neighbours any closer to the negotiating table despite India's suspension of military operations against Muslim militants in the Himalayan state.
"The efforts to come together should continue. I hope that in the future . . . this kind of engagement will be possible," Mr Annan said, referring to the 1999 Lahore declaration, which committed both sides to talks. "As secretary general my offices are always available but it must be acceptable to both sides."
Military ruler Gen Pervez Musharraf said he hoped Mr Annan, who is due to visit India later in his tour of South Asia, could achieve a breakthrough in the 54year-old dispute over Kashmir. "I'm very sure that his presence here will bring about a change in the environment and I wish him success in his mission," he said.
India and Pakistan, which became nuclear powers in 1998, have fought two of their three wars since 1947 over Kashmir, which is divided between them but claimed by both. The Lahore agreement, signed in February 1999, has been on ice since a border conflict broke out in the Kargil area of Kashmir only a few months later.
Hopes for peace have been raised since India declared a ceasefire against separatist militants in its part of the state in November, but New Delhi refuses to resume dialogue until Islamabad stops backing "cross-border terrorism". Pakistan offers open moral support to Muslim militants trying to drive the Indians from Kashmir but denies any military backing.