By Manish Chand, IANS,
New York : Putting the peace process back on track, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari Wednesday agreed to start cross-LoC trade Oct 21 and decided to hold a special meeting of anti-terror mechanism next month.
In their first meeting after Zardari became president last month, the two leaders discussed an entire range of bilateral issues, including cross-border terrorism, trade and commerce and the resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
“They agreed that violence, hostility and terrorism have no place in the vision they share of the bilateral relationship and must be visibly and verifiably prevented,” a joint statement said at the end of the talks between the two leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
The two leaders held talks in Hotel Millennium Plaza, a few blocks away from the UN headquarters.
“A special joint meeting of the joint anti-terror mechanism will be held in October to address mutual concerns, including the bombing of the Indian mission in Kabul,” the statement said.
In a significant confidence-building measure, the two sides decided to launch cross-border trade on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakot roads on Oct 21. Officials of both sides will meet soon to discuss the modalities for opening of the Skardu-Kargil route.
To promote economic cooperation, they decided to open the Wagah-Attari road link and Khokrapar-Munabao rail route to all permissible items of trade.