By all indications, President Pervez Musharraf's visit has vindicated the expectation that it would further accelerate the peace process between India and Pakistan. Nothing underlines this more strongly than the tone and content of the Joint Statement issued on Monday.

It clearly states that he and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh "assessed positively the progress made so far through confidence building, people-to-people contacts" and are "determined to build on the momentum already achieved." Reaffirming the commitments made in the Joint Press Statement of January 6, 2004, and the Joint Statement of September 24, 2004, they expressed satisfaction over the progress of the peace process which, they felt, "was now irreversible".

The desire to push it further is reflected in a clutch of decisions taken during the visit. Enhancing closer "interaction and cooperation" along the Line of Control (LoC) was clearly a major thrust area with special reference to agreed meeting points for divided families, trade, pilgrimage and cultural contact. Clearly, with the same end in view, they decided to increase the frequency of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service, and operationalise additional routes including that between Poonch and Rawalacote.

Steps to enhance movement across the LoC, aimed at alleviating the sufferings of divided families and bringing benefits of increased trade to inhabitants on both sides, are to be welcomed, both per se as well as part of a wider framework of increased cooperation which the visit has sought to put in place. The emphasis in the latter too is on greater people-to-people contact and trade.

Thus on the anvil is the early start of a bus service from Amritsar to Lahore and pilgrimage destinations like Nankana Sahib and the reestablishment of the Khokrapar-Munabao rail link by January 1 next year. The decisions include the opening of an Indian consulate in Karachi and a Pakistani one in Mumbai before the year is out, the reactivation of the Joint Economic Commission between the two countries, and the establishment, as soon as possible, of a Joint Business Council.

The last two decisions, as well as the one to explore cooperation in the petroleum and natural gas sectors and the "issue of pipelines" clearly reflect the belief, shared by the Prime Minister and the Pakistani President, that enhanced economic and commercial cooperation benefits people of both countries and bring a higher level of prosperity for the region. As important, it will give them a stake in furthering friendly ties.

The implementation of the decisions, including those to resolve the Sir Creek and Siachen issues, will doubtless lend a further momentum to the peace process. Much will, however, depend on implementation. While India granted Pakistan the most-favoured-nation status in trade several years ago, Pakistan has yet to reciprocate. One hopes that the reactivation of the Joint Economic Commission and the establishment of a Joint Business Council will facilitate movement in that direction.

Equally important is the question of cross-border terrorism. Pakistan has expressed its resolve to permit the use of its soil for terrorism in the two Joint Statements made last year. According to Monday's Statement President Musharraf and Prime Minister Singh have "pledged that they would not allow terrorism to impede the peace process." The first step towards ensuring this will be Pakistan's winding up of its infrastructure for cross-border terrorism.