"Let Eid this year inspire people from all walks of life to rededicate themselves to the task of strengthening communal harmony," Vajpayee

Additional Reporting By Asif Farooqi, IOL Correspondent

ISLAMABAD November 26 (IslamOnline.net) - As the moon of Eid al-Fitr lit up the night sky over Pakistan and India, guns fell silent along the disputed borders between the two south Asian arch rivals, which both agreed to a ceasefire starting Tuesday night, November 25, when Muslims there paid farewell to the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

The ceasefire along the disputed border of Jammu and Kashmir was proposed by Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali in his nationwide address on Sunday, November 23.

India reciprocated positively to the Pakistani goodwill gesture, and hostilities have come to a halt on the disputed border along Kashmir, also known as Line of Control (LOC) Tuesday, one day ahead of the feast. 

The LOC divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan.

The director generals of military operations of India and Pakistan held a rare meeting in a border post on the LOC and agreed to the truce, IslamOnline.net learnt.

"We do hope that the ceasefire would lead to a dialogue," Pakistan military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan told reporters after the announcement was made.

"Fortunately this time India responded positively to the unilateral ceasefire offer by Pakistan."

Sultan confirmed that military directors in India and Pakistan had contacted each other using a recently established hotline to put the ceasefire into effect.

The truce is considered a major step in the direction of peace making between the two nuclear rivals.

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said Eid al-Fitr was a time to focus on tolerance.

"Let Eid this year inspire people from all walks of life to rededicate themselves to the task of strengthening communal harmony and nation building with renewed vigor," Vajpayee said in a holiday message.   

'Eid Gift'

In Srinagar, the violence-torn summer capital of Kashmir, several residents described the surprise border truce as an "Eid gift".

"May this peace last forever," Kashmir's chief imam Umar Farooq said in a sermon to thousands.

Farooq said in the same mosque during prayers on Friday, November 21, that Kashmir's main separatist alliance was ready for talks with New Delhi to resolve the status of the territory disputed by India and Pakistan for half a century, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is a separatist group that wants the complete independence of Kashmir from India and Pakistan and holds the scenic Himalayan region in parts and claims it in full.

The ceasefire which took effect Wednesday, November 26, was "a big movement forward", said Abdul Aziz, who lives in the town of Uri on the disputed border.

"From here the two countries should not look backwards until they resolve all the issues," he said by telephone.

Children in Kashmir were decked out in new clothes for Eid, as Indian troops put up signs wishing Muslim residents a happy holiday.

The ceasefire, the first in at least 14 years, will cover the 230-kilometre of non-disputed section of the international border in Kashmir, the disputed 760-kilometer LOC and the northern Siachen Glacier.

The two neighbors had fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over Muslim-majority Himlayan region of Kashmir.

In April 2003, Vajpayee offered a hand of friendship to Pakistan and asked the rival state to shun differences and resolve the disputed issues through negotiations.

His efforts paid off with the two countries restoring full diplomatic ties on May 2 to settle half a century of disputes "for the economic and social betterment of their peoples."

The jerky start to peace moves led to the resumption of a bi-weekly bus service, but the two rivals are yet to re-start train or air services.