And possibly one giant step for South Asia ? Paraphrasing Neil Armstrong's remarks on setting foot on the moon, "one step for man, one giant step for mankind", is a regular pastime for commentators. Since more than one fifth (22%) of the world's population live in the sub-continent, the Musharraf initiative to allow people to cross over from both sides of the LOC in alleviating the miseries wrought by the earthquake on their kith and kin would truly mean walking on the moon for South Asians. Responding to the offer positively, India said it would negotiate the modalities but would restrict the movement to a few crossing points. Subject to successful negotiations Kashmiris would be able to mingle among themselves without somebody squinting at them through gunsights. The guns were already silent, or almost, a year or so before the devastating earthquake, hopefully this silence will remain deafening for the foreseeable future, maybe even forever.
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