Musharraf also sought to build upon Singh’s earlier proposal to establish a “cooperative and consultative mechanism” between the two Kashmirs to ameliorate the human condition in the state.

Singh had made this suggestion during his last visit to Amritsar in March 2006. He might now want to pick up the thread of public diplomacy with Pakistan on J&K in Amritsar tomorrow.

By accident or design, Amritsar, at the heart of the Punjab which paid such a huge price for the partition of the sub-continent in 1947, has emerged as the venue for Singh’s big political moves on Kashmir and Pakistan.

Analysts say Singh’s Amritsar initiative for a consultative mechanism across the dividing line in J&K is perhaps the one of the few creative ideas to emerge in the many decades of talks between India and Pakistan on Kashmir. The last time he was in Amritsar, Singh also proposed “a treaty of peace and friendship” that could round off a potential resolution of the Kashmir question and the comprehensive normalisation of bilateral relations.

After Amritsar, the July massacre in Mumbai derailed the peace process. It took the September meeting in Havana between Singh and Musharraf to revive the engagement between the two nations. Although the announcement of a joint Indo-Pak mechanism on counter-terror cooperation drew much public attention, the two leaders in Havana had, in a far more consequential affirmation, declared that progress had indeed occurred in the bilateral negotiations on J&K.

In Havana, Singh and Musharraf had also agreed to work together to reduce the divergence of views on Kashmir and build on the emerging convergences. The indications since Havana, especially Musharraf’s recent remarks, are that the back channel conversations on J&K have acquired some momentum.

... contd.