The eagerly awaited meeting between President General Pervez Musharraf and the Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, which took place in New York on Friday, has indeed turned out to be as promising as foretold by the two countries' officials. After their hour-long meeting, Singh told journalists, "I sincerely believe that today is an historic day and we have made a new beginning."
He went on to add, "despite the difficulties on the way, I and President Musharraf will together work and succeed in writing a new chapter in the history of our two countries."
Given the significance of the occasion, a lot of thoughtful deliberation must have gone into the delivery of these high-minded pledges of intent.
These indeed are reflective of a sincere desire to move on from the traditional policy of confrontation on the political front and intransigence at the conference table.
More importantly, the joint statement - read out before the media by President Pervez Musharraf - indicates a positive change in the Indian stand on the core issue of contention between the two countries.
It notes that "the two leaders also addressed the issue of Jammu and Kashmir, and agreed that possible options for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the issue should be explored in a sincere spirit and purposeful manner."
Ever since the ongoing Pakistan-India peace process started, the joint statements issued at the conclusion of each summit meeting mentioned the need to resolve all outstanding issues, with the appendage "including Kashmir."
It is for the first time that it figures as a major issue, with India having agreed to explore "possible options" for its resolution, implying that the Indian leadership has at long last dropped the shibboleth of Kashmir being an integral part of the Indian state.
It is also for the first time that India has not insisted on its habitual demand that Pakistan must stop 'cross-border infiltration.' It may be recalled that the Islamabad Declaration, issued at the conclusion of the Musharraf-Vajpayee meeting last January, also urged Pakistan to restrain cross-border infiltration while Pakistan responded with the demand that India stop human rights violations in the strife-torn Valley.
The omission of the jarring display of mutual acrimony in the New York joint statement indeed is a welcome move forward for the peace process.
On his part, President Musharraf expressed the desire to go beyond "hackneyed positions" on Kashmir.
In fact, for quite sometime now he has been repeatedly saying that the two sides need to move on from their 'hackneyed positions' and adopt "flexibility" in order to find a mutually acceptable solution of the Kashmir problem. It is undoubtedly a realistic approach for the two sides to adopt, for any negotiations on such an old and complex issue as Kashmir can reach a successful conclusion only when the two parties are willing to demonstrate flexibility on their long held positions.
And of course such a negotiations process must also take into account the wishes of the Kashmir people.
Economic interest being the most persuasive force behind most decision that individuals and nations take, the two leaders also discussed the long-pending gas pipeline project that is to bring Iranian gas to India via Pakistan. According to the joint statement, "it was felt that such a project could contribute to the welfare and prosperity of the people of both countries, and should be considered in the larger context of expanding trade and economic relations between India and Pakistan."
This assertion needs to be seen in the backdrop of recent statements by various Indian opinion leaders who have been arguing that Pakistan must not be seen only in a bilateral framework, but as a country which can serve as a conduit for India to the energy-rich Central Asian states.
They maintain that India requires that energy to meet the needs of its own fast expanding industry, and also that it must strive to serve as a hub of gas and oil pipelines for onward transmission to the emerging industrial economies in the East.
This interest in looking at Pakistan in a whole new light creates the hope that India is going to be serious about settling the core issue of Kashmir and seeking genuine friendship with the traditional rival. For now, the Musharraf-Manmohan meeting presents a cause for cautious optimism.