India, Pakistan agree new peace steps

NEW DELHI: India and Pakistan agree to open a second bus route linking their parts of disputed Kashmir, official says.
The officials of both the countries on Wednesday ended their second day of talks that focused on Kashmir and discussed ways to further boost confidence building along the Line of Control (LoC) to resolve the decades-old issue that continues to be a source of friction between them. Also
They also reached consensus on starting a bus service between between Poonch region and Rawalakot in the Pakistani zone of Kashmir before April.
A bus service between Srinagar, and Muzaffarabad, began last April after almost 60 years in what was seen as the first tangible fruits of the peace process.
A truck service on Muzaffarabad-Srinagar route for trade in permitted goods would be in place as soon as the infrastructure damaged during the earthquake is restored, the joint statement said.
India and Pakistan also agreed to implement fresh measures to lower tensions over Kashmir and confirmed their commitment to keep their stuttering peace process on track.
A joint statement issued at the end of the talks, which marked the start of a third round of negotiations since the arch-rivals began talking peace two years ago, said India and Pakistan "reaffirmed their commitments to move forward the peace process in a meaningful way".
The two foreign secretaries -- India's Saran and Pakistan's Riaz Mohammed Khan -- "agreed to mandate two expert groups to continue consultations on security concepts and nuclear doctrines" to enhance mutual trust and avoid conflict, the statement said.
The experts would finalise an agreement "on reducing the risk of nuclear accidents or unauthorised use of nuclear weapons," the statement said.
Both sides would also work towards an agreement "on prevention of incidents" between naval vessels and aircraft of the two countries.