India-Pakistan hotline signals warmer relations

NEW DELHI – India and Pakistan will establish a nuclear hotline to reduce the risk of war, and the longtime South Asian rivals Sunday reaffirmed their commitments to an atomic testing moratorium – steps forward in efforts to normalize relations.

Pakistan said it hopes the nuclear talks and other avenues of dialogue lead to a summit between Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and India’s new prime minister, Manmohan Singh.

“We are making preparations … If they culminate in a summit, it will be a good thing,” said Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan.

Reconciliation efforts launched between Pakistan and India under Singh’s predecessor, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, are continuing under India’s new government, Khan said. Vajpayee was ousted in April-May elections.

“When there was a political transition in India, there was some degree of uncertainty. That has been resolved. We are on track,” Khan said.

In a joint statement at the conclusion of two days of talks in the Indian capital, officials said the dedicated secure hotline between the countries’ foreign secretaries was intended to “prevent misunderstandings and reduce risks relevant to nuclear issues.”

An existing hotline between directors-general of military operations in both countries also will be upgraded and secured, the statement said.

“We are moving ahead step by step. Whatever we agree to do, we must implement. That is the spirit,” Khan said in New Delhi.