Productive visit

First, the Pakistani general has changed his public image in India, built on the foundations of his adventures in Kargil and Agra, from a hawk and a smart-aleck trickster to someone who genuinely wants positive outcomes and is willing to be patient in working towards them.

The importance of this is not to be under-estimated, and leads to the second point, which is that he and Manmohan Singh have developed a mutual respect and willingness to work together that makes further diplomacy possible and indeed fruitful.

Third, the logic of a "comprehensive" dialogue that provides for confidence-building measures has moved many steps forward-with agreement on greater movement of both people and goods by road and rail, and significant movement on trade (with India promising to do its bit to help Pakistani exports).

If the abatement of tension gives way to genuine goodwill, issues like

Sir Creek and the capture of poor fishermen will hopefully become things of the past, and perhaps pave the way for some understanding on river water issues.

But the most significant development concerns Jammu & Kashmir. President Musharraf has covered enormous ground in accepting the Indian Prime Minister's basic proposition, that one must move from the old era of geo-politics to a more modern conception of international relations, recognising the 21st century reality that borders matter less and less.

He has also shown courage in accepting explicitly Dr Singh's position, spelt out at their New York meeting in September, that there can be no change of boundaries and no handing over of territory.

The Pakistani leader has also shown wisdom in recognising that there is no immediate solution visible, it has to be worked on-without resort to violence (which hopefully means an end to terrorism, though there is still some doubt), and without a referendum (which buries the old plebiscite question).

India in turn has implicitly accepted that the Line of Control is not a solution, that the people of the divided state do have some say, and that "conflict resolution" must go beyond having soft borders.

Speaking with his usual forthrightness, President Musharraf stated the obvious: there is no solution in sight, but within the boundaries of what has been mutually accepted, something has to be worked out that might encompass autonomy, self-governance and even joint responsibility, without compromising national sovereignty.

This certainly suggests the outlines of an eventual settlement, even though one will take time to be hammered out and then accepted by public opinion in both countries.

The joint statement issued yesterday is not as forthright on many of these issues as the two leaders have been in their inter-actions with the media, but it says enough to convey the message that there has been genuine progress, and holds out the prospect of more to come.

They are an unlikely couple, the general and the professor, but together they seem to have opened up possibilities that the professional practitioners of realpolitik found impossible to achieve.

The sub-continent will be a safer and happier place if they succeed in their endeavours.