Monitor

All the News of the World World comment on India and Pakistan's agreement to reduce nuclear risk

THE DISPUTE on the subcontinent isn't about protein, of course. In fact, it's hard to say what it's about. Perhaps it's about habit - a cultivated hatred with nothing real at the core. But security concerns expressed by both countries are real and legitimate. When your neighbor is setting off explosions just over your back fence, you can't just shrug and keep pruning the rose bushes. But it's eerie to hear these two neighbors speaking about each other as they do, and to hear them talking up the bomb as the latest modern convenience. It's an old story and it's hard to imagine a happy ending.

Star Tribune, US

THE GOVERNMENT will be supported by most citizens in its efforts to build bridges with India. Some of us might call it a significant change, especially for a society that has remained unchanged for so long.

As we have been saying time and again, it is India that must provide the needed impetus for normalisation. It can help Pakistan overwhelm elements that seek war. The test is about to get under way, and we wish both sides tons of good luck.

Frontier Post, Pakistan

ONLY THE naive will expect a dramatic breakthrough. There may even be occasional setbacks. After all, there are curmudgeonly politicians and bureaucrats on both sides who would not like their pet hates to disappear suddenly. But Mr Vajpayee will still leave his mark on history if he succeeds. More than the agreements, and disagreements, therefore, what the confabulations in Lahore have achieved is to put peace and friendship on top of the agenda, from which it will not be easy to dislodge them.

Hindustan Times, India

THE OBJECTIVE of policy-makers must centre around normalising relations. India and Pakistan can aspire to be one nation again, but with a minor difference - they will be divided only by a border. There is more that binds these peoples together than separates them. Language, culture, a long and shared past are important ingredients necessary for building peace in the troubled subcontinent.

The Pioneer, India