Agence France Presse

Islamabad, April 2:

Pakistan and India will begin talks next week on proposals to establish a first-ever bus service between their respective zones of disputed Kashmir, the foreign ministry said today. “The talks between communications (transport) ministry officials will be held in Islamabad from April 8 to 9,” said a foreign office spokesman.

PM Zafarullah Jamali annou-nced in November that Pakistan was ready to discuss the bus link, proposed by India under a package of confidence building measures. The proposal was initially ridiculed by Islamabad, with Foreign Minister Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri saying it made a mockery of New Delhi’s complaints of alleged incursions by pro-Pakistan Islamic militants across the de-facto border. The proposed service would run between Muzaffarabad in Pakistani-controlled side, and Srinagar, the Indian-controlled zone’s summer capital.