The silence along the Kashmir stretch of frontier between India and Pakistan is something to be cheered.

That stretch includes the international border that covers several areas over which the two neighbours are in controversy.

Indian and Pakistani armies began a ceasefire in Kashmir at midnight on Tuesday.

It was the first time in 14 years, the two countries reached such an accord.

The ceasefire is a positive step for both countries to head toward a more normal relationship.

However, the agreement makes no mention of how long it will last or how effective it will be.

Symbolic as it may be, the ceasefire in Kashmir will help improve the atmosphere ahead of an expected visit to Islamabad by Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for a regional summit in early January.

Such a move is significant given the fact that Indian and Pakistani troops, who are in close proximity at several places along the 460 mile line of control in Kashmir, exchange gunfire nearly every day.

Will the tranquility Tuesday night be a prelude to a lasting peace in Kashmir?

For that to happen, both sides must demonstrate a will to hammer out a political position that would remove mistrust.

A durable accord does not seem to be in sight right now.

The Indian Government has ruled out the possibility of holding bilateral meetings between Vajpayee and Pakistani leaders on the sidelines of the summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation Asia summit in Islamabad in January.

That means formal peace talks are out of sight for now.

Still, a militant group based in Pakistan said its members would keep fighting.

The two countries have tried several times to observe ceasefires in the region. All their efforts were foiled.

The two nations have fought three wars, two of them over Kashmir, since 1947 after gaining independence from Britain.

Since April this year the two sides' attempts to resolve 56 years of enmity have borne some fruit.

India and Pakistan have restored their ambassadors and resumed a bus link.

But these are not enough to build a normal relationship between the two countries if they refuse to sit down for face-to-face talks.

Guns are not the tools to mend their fences.

(China Daily November 27, 2003)