There are grounds for hope of a thaw in relations between India and Pakistan as the former is sending its foreign secretary to Islamabad early next month. Pakistan has welcomed this confidence building measure and stressed the need for starting a meaningful and serious dialogue process. The Indian diplomat will arrive in Islamabad as part of his visit to other SAARC countries. There is a string of issues that need to be discussed and resolved between the two rival states. The Indian side will likely focus on issues like the Mumbai attack while Pakistan will take up the matters of Kashmir, Sir Creek, Siachen, the Samjhota Express tragedy, recent boat sinking controversy, tensions on the LoC and India’s alleged role in stirring trouble in Balochistan. Positively, this time, India has conveyed its readiness to discuss the longstanding dispute of Jammu and Kashmir among other issues during the secretary-level talks. The US is believed to have played a role in persuading the Modi government to revive talks with Pakistan. Earlier, Islamabad had urged the US to convince India to resume the stalled peace process so that it could focus on the war against terrorism. There is little possibility of an immediate breakthrough in the upcoming meeting. However, it is a good sign that both sides are willing to discuss all contentious issues. Mr Modi might have realised that neither Pakistan nor India can take full control of the Kashmir region and only talks can pave the way for solutions to all disputes. In August last year, the Indian government had cancelled scheduled bilateral talks on the pretext that the High Commissioner of Pakistan had met Kashmiri Hurriyet leaders in New Delhi. Islamabad cannot come to any agreement on Kashmir with New Delhi without taking the Kashmiri people into confidence, being the main stakeholders in the dispute. Relations between Pakistan and India have been tense over the past few months due to sporadic incidents of clashes along the Line of Control and Working Boundary. It is fundamental for future engagement that the trajectory of peace must be defined. War and hatred bring nothing and both states should move on harmony and prosperity. They must be careful about the incidents that had previously derailed the peace process. After fighting wars and maintaining tense relations for the last 68 years, a paradigm shift is needed for establishing good neighbourly relations. There are great trade prospects between the two countries that can create innumerable job opportunities to help end the sufferings of people from both sides. World powers like the US and China also want Pakistan and India to normalise relations in the interests of regional prosperity. Both states have to compromise and demonstrate maturity for the establishment of a lasting peace. *