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	CIAO Focus, January 2004: India and Pakistan
	This month's meeting between the leaders of India and Pakistan has renewed hopes that a real and lasting peace can be made between the two nuclear powers. Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf put forth a new initiative aimed at normalization of relations. In a sentiment echoed by Musharraf, Vajpayee called for a bold transition. "We have to change South Asia's image and its standing in the world," Vajpayee said. The dispute over Kashmir, which has sparked two of their three previous wars, remains a major stumbling block. Separatist violence continues to be on the rise in Kashmir, with over a dozen people killed in December despite a truce. The recent rapprochement has been greeted with optimism by the world community. From CIAO's database: Finding a Kashmir Settlement: The Burden of Leadership The Start of a Beautiful Friendship? The United States and India Is South Asian Nuclear Politics Different? Some Cooperative Initiatives for India-Pakistan Dialogue and Risk Reduction Why India Went Nuclear Politics in Pakistan Post-September 11, 2001 Outside Links*: UNMOGIP http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unmogip/index.html Federation of American Scientists http://www.fas.org/news/indopak.htm India and Pakistan Timeline from the BBC http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/south_asia/2002/india_pakistan/timeline/default.stm The Islamic Republic of Pakistan http://www.pakistan.gov.pk/AboutPakGov.jsp Government of India http://www.indianembassy.org/cabinet/cabinet.htm * Outside links are not maintained. For broken outside links, CIAO recommends the Way Back Machine [http://www.archive.org/].