India and Pakistan are still holding on to their own rigid positions. India keeps harping that Kashmir can only be one of a list of subjects to be discussed. Pakistan disagrees and argues that Kashmir is a central issue that has to be tackled first.
The two countries have fought four wars over Kashmir -- which both claim to be their own -- since the British divided the subcontinent into India and Pakistan in 1947.
Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf appears adamant. A recent television news report showed him saying in no uncertain terms: "Kashmir has to be the key question in any talks."