Not long ago, it would have led to immediate talk of war. The co-ordinated terrorist attack on Delhi on October 29th, in which three bombs exploded within 30 minutes of each other, killed more than 60 people. Many were shoppers, stocking up for Diwali, the biggest Hindu festival of the year, on November 1st, and the Muslim festival of Eid, two days later. Police and officials were quick to voice suspicions of Pakistan's involvement. Yet, within hours, India and Pakistan had announced one of the biggest steps yet towards easing tension in their long dispute over Kashmir. In response to the earthquake that struck both the Indian and Pakistani parts of the territory at the beginning of October, they announced a limited opening of the "line of control" that divides it, to allow relief workers and separated families to cross. Far from thwarting agreement, the atrocity in Delhi nudged Pakistan, in particular, into making the concessions needed to reach it. Yet the peace process is nevertheless damaged. On October 31st, Pakistan's president, Pervez Musharraf, called again for the "demilitarisation" of Kashmir. India, smarting from the terrorist attack, and exasperated at General Musharraf's habit of negotiating through press conferences, studiously ignored him.
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