Declaring their peace process irreversible, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan agreed today to open up the militarized frontier dividing Kashmir, capping a landmark visit to New Delhi by President Pervez Musharraf.
In a significant coming together, General Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said they would work toward a "soft border" in Kashmir, opening meeting points for divided families and boosting trade, travel and cooperation across the frontier.
Reading a joint statement as he stood next to Gen Musharraf, Mr Singh said the two, "conscious of the historic opportunity created by the improved relations and the overwhelming desire of the peoples of the two countries for durable peace...determined that the peace process was now irreversible."
Analysts said the focus on building trust, softening the border and improving the lives of ordinary Kashmiris marked a major departure from the past, when the two sides have banged heads together over their rival territorial claims.
Both leaders suggested this new approach could eventually lead to a settlement of their dispute over Kashmir, at the heart of half a century of hostility and which almost sparked a fourth war in 2002.
"This is what I call going toward a soft border," Gen Musharraf had said earlier. "But a soft border is not a final solution."
The joint statement said terrorism would not be allowed to derail peace efforts and clearly warned Islamic separatists fighting Indian rule that neither side would tolerate attacks on a just-launched bus service uniting the divided Himalayan region.
The two leaders agreed to increase bus services across the cease-fire line and open the fenced and heavily guarded frontier, once dubbed the world's most dangerous flashpoint by the United States, to freight trucks and pilgrims.
"I think the outcome has been better than I expected," Gen Musharraf, due in Manila later Monday, told reporters earlier.
The contrast with a failed summit in the Indian city of Agra in 2001 was dramatic.
The three-day visit by the Delhi-born Gen Musharraf was originally intended as an informal trip to watch Pakistan play India in cricket - Pakistan won yesterday - but effectively turned into a summit with Mr Singh, born in what is now Pakistan.