ISLAMABAD -- When Pakistani military ruler Gen. Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee spoke on the phone for a few minutes after the devastating earthquake that hit parts of India recently, many observers were relieved.

The two men who control the world's two newest nuclear powers had finally spoken after pointing fingers at each other for over a year.

For many South Asia watchers, the ultimate question was whether a new peace process might be beginning in the tense region where India and Pakistan have been bitter enemies for most of their 53-year history.