The Samjhauta Express will start operations from next month".
Besides restoring air, bus and train links, Jamali said he wanted the two nations to restore sports links, including cricket and field hockey games. Except for the World Cup, Pakistan and India have not played a cricket match since 2000.
Full Diplomatic ties have been restored and delegations of parliamentarians and traders have visited each other's countries. This is the first time that such a large trade delegation has come from Pakistan. Islamabad has decided to free 20 Indian nationals who were languishing in Pakistani jails. .
Pakistan called for Confidence -building measures concerning their nuclear arsenals and has offered to advance a SAARC summit meeting (January 4 - 6, 2004) it is to host. The much-postponed summit can be an ideal setting for the normalization of relations between the two neighbours.
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Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali said he hoped the two nations could resolve their decades-long differences over the disputed Kashmir region. "I am hopeful a good solid solution should be coming forward on all issues, of course including the Jammu and Kashmir issue,"" Jamali said. .
Whether the Delhi- Lahore bus service will really help people to connect with their neighbouring country or prove to be just another futile effort to bring peace- will depend on the magnitude of efforts being made by Pakistan to control terrorist activities.
Economic Issues.
Pakistan cannot afford to continue confrontation. The price of confrontation is too high- not just in terms of money, but also the lost time and lost opportunity. To assess the relative economic and social decline of Pakistan in the region consider the following facts: from the mid-1960s to the mid-1990s, Pakistan was ahead of India in economic terms. Attention has been drawn to the fact that its per capita income has now fallen below that of India. At the turn of the millennium it stood at US$ 460 for India and US$420 for Pakistan.
