United Nations - The Indian Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee, proclaimed a new era in Indo-Pakistani co-operation after the two south Asian rivals agreed to open wide ranging talks on all disputes, including Kashmir.
"A new chapter in Indo-Pakistani co-operation is being opened," Mr Vajpayee told a news conference after a two-hour meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Mr Nawaz Sharif at a New York hotel.
"Firing on the border will be stopped," he said, referring to repeated shelling across the so-called line of control in Kashmir. Mr Sharif meanwhile said Pakistan would adhere to a treaty banning underground nuclear tests when US sanctions were lifted. , Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced Wednesday.
In a speech to the UN General Assembly, he dropped a key condition that Pakistan had previously insisted on - that India should first sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) banning underground nuclear tests.