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Pakistan and India to restore transportation links source: Christian Science Monitor | Nov 30, 03 | submitted by Rik Logtenberg

Pakistan - Today, for thousands of divided families like Rana's, hopes are beginning to rise, as India and Pakistan's weeklong cease-fire shows signs of holding. Artillery guns remain silent, and diplomats Monday in Delhi will begin talks on restoring air, bus, and rail links between the two South Asian rival nations. In a goodwill gesture, Pakistan Sunday lifted a ban on Indian flights over its airspace.

For a lasting peace to take hold, regional experts stress that the recent goodwill gestures need to be followed quickly with something more concrete.

"Pakistan has to be seen doing something other than just banning a few militant groups," says Ashok Mehta, a former Indian Army major general and now a defense analyst in New Delhi. "They must do something visible, concrete, like dismantling militant camps. India must be convinced that something is being done to stop infiltration."

Pakistani observers, meanwhile, say that India should move toward a serious dialogue with Kashmiri separatists. Last week's invitation by Indian Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani to the separatist All Parties Hurriyat Conference is a good first step, they say.

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