India releases eight Pakistan prisoners
(AP)
Updated: 2005-12-27 09:43

India freed eight Pakistani prisoners Monday as part of peace efforts between the South Asia rivals, while the two governments scheduled new talks to resolve their long-standing dispute over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

Indian authorities handed over the eight �� including a teenage boy �� to Pakistani officials at the main border crossing near Lahore, said Mohammed Sarwar, a senior Pakistani border guard.

As part of the peace process, the two governments have agreed to expedite the release of each other's prisoners caught on the wrong side of the border and often accused of spying. Many such prisoners say they accidentally wandered across the poorly marked frontier.

Pakistani prisoners are escorted by Indian policemen before they cross over to their country at the India and Pakistan joint border check post in Wagah, India Monday, Dec. 26, 2005.[AP]

Relations between India and Pakistan �� long bedeviled by their conflict over Kashmir, a divided territory claimed by both �� have improved considerably since the start of the peace process in January 2004.

Still, the rivals have taken just small steps toward peace since the massive October quake that devastated Kashmir, a tragedy which was initially hoped would bring the countries together.

The countries' top foreign ministry officials will meet in New Delhi on Jan. 17-18 for a third round of peace talks, focusing on Kashmir and security, officials from both countries said.

Foreign ministry officials last met in September in Islamabad, Pakistan's capital.

The freed teenage boy, Altaf Shah, 16, said he was arrested after he strayed into India four years ago when he visited friends. He was convicted of illegal entry.

"I am happy that I have got my life back and I am back in my own country," he said.

The other seven had been imprisoned for either entering India illegally or overstaying their visas. Sarwar said the prisoners will be questioned by Pakistani authorities before being allowed to go home.

Officials at January's talks will review progress made so far at lower-level meetings and plot the course of future negotiations, said Natvej Sarna, a spokesman for the Indian foreign ministry.

Also, railway officials will meet in New Delhi on Jan. 5-16 for discussions on reopening a rail link between Munabao in India and the Pakistani border town of Khokhrapar. The link was severed during a 1965 war between the two countries.

Pakistan and India have restored air, rail and bus links over the past two years in an effort to smooth over their differences.

But they've made little progress in resolving their standoff over Kashmir. The rivals have fought three wars since the subcontinent was partitioned at independence from Britain in 1947, including two conflicts over Kashmir.

Complicating matters is a 16-year-old Islamic insurgency in India's part of Kashmir. India says Pakistan supports the militants �� a claim Islamabad denies.