India and Pakistan have resumed high-level diplomatic talks. The discussions were preliminary — a "first step" in the words of Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao — but relations between the two are so bad and the potential fallout from a crisis so high that any progress between the two is to be applauded and encouraged. Patience is a must given the mistrust that dominates relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.
The division of India and Pakistan in 1947 still defines relations between these two countries. They have fought three wars and marched to the brink of a nuclear confrontation on at least one occasion. The Muslim-populated territory of Kashmir, claimed by Pakistan but part of India, tops Islamabad's agenda and hangs like a cloud over bilateral relations. Diplomatic talks have begun and foundered, often torpedoed by acts of violence against India. Some observers believe that factions within Pakistan have sabotaged talks to prevent any movement pending resolution of the Kashmir question to their satisfaction.
The most recent dialogue between the two countries was halted after the November 2008 terrorist attacks on Mumbai that left some 165 people dead. India insisted that Islamabad aggressively pursue the people responsible for the attack — believing that they had been trained and sheltered in Pakistan — before Delhi would resume talks. Pakistan has denied any involvement in the atrocity and argued that it is as much a victim of terrorism as India.