Already, feedback in Islamabad from recent people-to-people exchanges,including the visit by journalists, has reportedly indicated that thepro-Pakistan constituency in Kashmir is much smaller than had been imagined, aperception that Pakistan's military establishment would like to reverse.
It must remain clear, however, that steps such as the bus service, the currentcricket-series bonhomie and CBMs in general, while they may, over time,strengthen processes of 'emotional enlistment', do not, in any measure, alterIndia's and Pakistan's stated positions on the Kashmir issue. In that sense,they will do little to change the fundamentals of the conflict in and overKashmir, which can easily escalate again if any of the extremist players - ortheir primary state sponsor - recovers the capabilities of disruption or theimpunity that they operated under before 9/11.