Whatever the reservations on all sides, the unilateral ceasefire initiative was worth taking. Jointly, Pakistan and Hizbul Mujahideen supported by the APHC have forced an opening for beginning a process for the peaceful settlement of the Kashmir issue. The parties in the conflict include many Kashmiri parties, the five different Indian security forces based in the occupied Kashmir, the pundits, the BJP supporters, New Delhi's puppet Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah, the Indian and the Pakistani governments and the various political parties of the two countries. Whatever the odds the unilateral ceasefire offers New Delhi a window of opportunity to open a trilateral and substantive dialogue on the Kashmir issue. The ball is in the Indian court.
Dialogue obviously is the best mode of conflict resolution.
Whether the mode of dialogue is invoked for resolving the Kashmir issue by the three parties to the Kashmir conflict, depends almost entirely on the Indians. On how fast the Indian state moves with tangible steps to drastically reduce state terrorism in the occupied Kashmir will depend on the crystallisation of a hopeful situation. Delaying tactics by India will back-fire. Within the immediate context India has wisely reciprocated immediately and Hizb has already begun talks with the security forces to sort out the modalities of a formal ceasefire. Which way is this latest Pakistani-Kashmiri initiative likely to advance depends on the swiftness with which the Indians engage on the substantive issues.