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ISLAMABAD: A truce accord between India and Pakistan came into effect — by placing the guns into a silhouette of silence — at zero hundred hours [mid-night] Tuesday, prima facie averting stippled perils and instead paving perceptible vistas for a durable peace — between the two nuke-neighbours of South Asia.

The two countries had, earlier agreed to implement the ceasefire along the Line of Control (LoC), the Working Boundary and the Line of Actual Contact in Siachen sector from midnight, Tuesday.

Speaking to 'Pakistan Times', the first web daily of Pakistan, the Director General of the Inter Service Public Relations [ISPR] Major General Shaukat Sultan expressed the hope, late in the night that the proposition would, eventually lead to normalization of relations and the much-awaited dialogue between the two countries.

The Directors General Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India, he said made a hot-line contact earlier in the day and worked out the modalities on enforcing the ceasefire.

He said that Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali had unilaterally offered to observe comprehensive ceasefire that includes LoC, Working Boundary and Siachin.

In the past India had been rejecting Pakistani peace initiatives but this time Indian leadership has responded positively, DG ISPR observed. To a question, Gen. Shuakat Sultan said that the DGMOs of the two countries were in regular contact, once a week, and if needed they could talk more.

"During a hotline contact between the Director General Military Operations (DGMOs) of Pakistan and India Tuesday, it was mutually agreed upon that troops of both the countries will observe ceasefire along the working boundary, Line of Control and the Line of Actual Contact in Siachin Sector from the midnight, November 25-26", he elaborated.

To another question, he said, "We too hope that the ceasefire remains and that it leads to further normalization of relations and then to a dialogue between the two countries."

Up-date

An update story says that ceasefire in Kashmir agreed by the India and Pakistan came into effect at midnight Tuesday [1900 GMT].

For the first time in 14 years the heavy artillery along the Line of Control was to fall silent. "The Director Generals of Military Operations of India and Pakistan .... agreed to observe a ceasefire with effect from midnight tonight (1830 GMT) along the international border, the Line of Control and (Siachen Glacier)," India's foreign ministry said Tuesday.

The agreement to halt fire came after Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali announced Sunday a unilateral ceasefire in Kashmir starting from this week's Eid holiday marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

India Welcomes

India welcomed Pakistan's move and on Tuesday said it would reciprocate along its borders. It is the first full ceasefire since Kashmiris indigenous struggle began in India's only Muslim-majority state in 1989, since when tens of thousands of lives have been lost in fighting.

Pakistan said it hoped the ceasefire would lead to talks to resolve the dispute. "We do hope that the ceasefire would lead to a dialogue," Pakistan military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan said after the Indian foreign ministry announcement.

Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal hailed Pakistan's moves towards peace. "I think what the Pakistan side has done is very encouraging. All this is very good and will enhance people-to-people contacts between the two countries," Sibal told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit.

Tensions between the countries have been easing since Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee offered a "hand of friendship" to Pakistan in April.

India's Announcement

A report from New Delhi, quoting an Indian foreign ministry statement said that India and Pakistan have decided to implement a ceasefire along their borders in disputed Kashmir from midnight [1830 GMT] Tuesday.

"The director generals of military operations of India and Pakistan agreed to observe a ceasefire with effect from midnight tonight [Tuesday] along the international border, the line of control and Siachen Glacier", he said.

The truce comes into force as a follow-up of Prime Minister, Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali's fresh offer to India for a ceasefire along the frontiers of the two countries n' the Line of Control [LoC] in the Himalayan State of Jammu n' Kashmir with the advent of Eid-ul-Fitr this year.

Indian Foreign Secretary

The Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal Tuesday hailed fresh peace moves by Pakistan, saying they could lead to dialogue between the neighboring countries, a foreign news agency report says.

"I think what the Pakistan side has done is very encouraging. All this is very good and will enhance people-to-people contacts between the two countries," Sibal told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit.

Sibal Tuesday reiterated New Delhi's position that future progress towards peace was dependent on an end to the infiltration of insurgents from the Pakistani zone of Kashmir into the Indian zone. He said the Indian side had offered to start immediate technical level talks for expanding transportation links between the two countries.

FM Sinha

India has called Pakistan’s recent proposal on ceasefire on ceasefire on Line of Control very positive for building confidence between the two countries.

Foreign Minister Yeshwant Sinha in a gathering in New Delhi said India wants to talk everyone for improvement of living standard of the people of the region.

FO Spokesman Reax

The spokesman of Pakistan's Foreign Office, Masood Khan said, in an interview that "this is a unilateral decision taken by Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali and we are glad that India has responded positively to this proposal".

"We hope that the ceasefire will prove to be a good beginning for confidence building and resumption of dialogue between Pakistan and India". He said the move would help stabilize the situation and stressed "the most important thing is that we should move towards the resolutions of all differences between Pakistan and India including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir".

Khan said, "The ceasefire goes into effect from the auspicious day of Eid and hoped it would bring respite to the civilians living along the LoC."

Three injured by Indian firing on LoC prior to Ceasefire

'Pakistan Times' Special Correspondent Usman Naseem adds from the capital of Azad Kashmir, Muzaffarabad that three children were injured as Indian forces fired mortar shells in different parts of Azad Kashmir along the Line of Control (LoC), prior to the ceasefire pledged by Pakistan and India on the eve of Eid-ul-Fitr.

Indian forces opened unprovoked fire in Khoi Reta sector of Kotli district, a police spokesman said.

A mortar shell landed in Lanjot Bahadur village resulting in the injuries to Saqib,, Khurum, 5, and their three year old sister. The injured were rushed to a near by hospital. The Indian forces also opened fire in the Neelam valley in Sahara sector, however no causalities were reported.