India and Pakistan agree peace deal

Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan agreed today to notify each other before testing missiles, to open consulates and to work toward settling their five-decade dispute over Kashmir and other bilateral issues.

The two nations’ foreign secretaries met for a second day today and “reiterated that the dialogue would lead to peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir,” Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna announced in New Delhi.

Outlining a series of new confidence-building steps, Sarna said the two countries would work toward an agreement to notify each other before testing missiles.

This follows an accord last week to set up a hotline to prevent accidental nuclear war.

The two countries will open new consulates in Karachi, Pakistan and Bombay, India and restore their embassies to full strength of 110 staffers each, Sarna said.

They will also free all fishermen seized in each other’s territorial waters, he said.