The reconciliatory moves made by India and Pakistan on Wednesday to set a basic roadmap for peace talks, aimed at ending more than half a century of hostility, were a great consolation for the region. 

Following three days of preparatory talks in Islamabad, the two longstanding rivals in South Asia agreed to hold a series of high-level meetings over the next six months to tackle a wide range of disputes, with Kashmir and nuclear security topping the agenda.

The dialogue will culminate with a summit in August between the two nations' foreign ministers -- an encouraging breakthrough two years after the nuclear-armed adversaries stood on the brink of war.

Conducive to easing the tension in South Asia, the latest move is a positive step towards durable peace.

It shows there is a shared political understanding that war is not a desirable option.

In spite of all their former antagonistic rhetoric, both sides need to take a new shot at peace and avoid pitfalls that undermine earlier attempts to bridge their differences.

Both sides have appeared keen on maintaining the momentum generated by last month's meeting between Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee during a regional summit in Islamabad.

What began in earnest last April, when Vajpayee announced he would try once more to reach an accommodation with Pakistan, has now proceeded to an equally earnest offer by Musharraf for a major policy change on how their dispute over Kashmir should be settled.

All could be brought nearer to fruition when the two nations' foreign ministers meet in August.

The two countries have gone to war three times since gaining independence from Britain in 1947 -- twice over Kashmir, which they both claim.

There was no lack of finger-pointing between the two neighbors. Finger-pointing over cross-border terrorism, for one, has remained one of the most damaging factors in bilateral ties.

In 2002, four years after both sides conducted tit-for-tat nuclear tests, more than 1 million troops massed on the border in a confrontation sparked by an attack on India's parliament in December 2001 that Delhi blamed on Pakistani-backed militants.

The roadmap for the peace process is but a good start on a long journey, while the hard part, when talks of substance start, is yet to come.

The bitter dispute over Kashmir has dominated bilateral relations for more than five decades and has the potential to derail any peace initiative.

It is imperative that both sides adopt a pragmatic approach and adjust their respective long-adhered policies on the Kashmir issue so as to find a common ground, which needs the insight and courage of the leadership from both countries.

There have been a number of opportunities which might have relieved the two South Asian neighbors of their bitter stand-off. Each of them finally slipped away because of the lack of mutual confidence.

In order not to let the current one evaporate like in the past, both sides should keep in their consciousness that reciprocity is essential when it comes to goodwill.

(China Daily February 20, 2004)