NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: India and Pakistan said Thursday they would resume formal peace talks but issues such as militancy and the disputed Kashmir region are likely to slow any progress toward defusing tensions. The talks, expected to start by July, would be the first since New Delhi broke off peace negotiations after militant attacks on Mumbai in 2008. The nuclear-armed neighbors have been under pressure from the United States to resolve a rivalry that spills over into Afghanistan, complicating peace efforts there. Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani welcomed “the important decision taken both by Pakistan and India to resume (a) full spectrum of dialogue”. In a statement, Gilani said the talks were the result of his negotiations with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. If talks do resume there is probably little chance of rapid progress between the two countries, which have fought each other three times since their independence more than 60 years ago. Previous formal talks, which started in 2004, quickly floundered amid a minefield of political obstacles and distrust. “I am cautiously optimistic about the talks. Cautious because there are so many variables and unknowns involved,” said Amitabh Mattoo, professor of International Relations at Jawaharlal Nehru University. A senior Indian government official said the decision to return to talks was made at a meeting between the two countries' top diplomats in Bhutan's capital, Thimphu, on the sidelines of a regional conference.The two governments will hold a series of talks on counter-terrorism and Kashmir ahead of a visit to India by Pakistan's foreign minister by July, the countries' foreign ministries said. “I think the Indians have realized that their policy (of not having formal talks) was not paying any dividends,” said former Pakistani army general and analyst Talat Masood. “I think there is also some sort of foreign pressure, the American pressure that it's much better in the interest of Afghanistan that they improve their relationship.”
