LAST weekend the summit between Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Indian Prime Minister and the Pakistani President, General Pervaiz Musharraf, in Agra, the city of the world famous Taj Mahal, came to an undignified but not unexpected end when the two sides were unable to agree on a joint declaration.

This was a real shame as the rounds of talks had apparently gone well, leading to expectations of useful groundwork having been done for the future.

The people in the two countries, accounting for a fifth of all mankind, were hoping for a miracle which would allow national budgets on both sides to be used on health, education and development in general, rather than being eaten away by a pointless arms race.

Unfortunately, without a resolution of the final status of Kashmir, the bone of contention between the two countries and the cause of two wars between them, the summit was not expected to achieve much of substance other than to increase the degree of trust between the two governments.

Despite the abrupt end to this summit, it is clear that both sides must return to the negotiating table even though it is too early for both sides to move away from their stated positions in public.

Hopefully the two leaders will meet again at the UN in September and Mr Vajpayee has accepted the invitation to pay a reciprocal visit to Pakistan later in the year.

It is evident that despite the need for both sides to reach a settlement of a number of issues, the main stumbling block is Kashmir, two thirds of which is under Indian control.

From the time the British departed from India in 1947 until the late 1950s, Pandit Jawarlal Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister, promised the people of Kashmir would be allowed to determine their own destiny through an internationally supervised plebiscite.

In the absence of such a plebiscite the Kashmiri people have been engaged in an armed struggle with India since the mid 1980s which has cost thousands of Kashmiri lives.

Most people believe that a "give and take" attitude may be more beneficial.

If India can allow the Kashmiri people to determine their own future through an internationally supervised plebiscite, Pakistan can give the use of its territory to carry a gas pipeline from Iran to India, as its energy resources are lagging behind demand.

Unfortunately, the ingrained distrust between the two protagonists is so great that it now requires the good offices of a third party in the form of either the UN or United States to act as a go-between.

The benefits of a peace dividend far outweigh the risks of negotiations and it is hoped that both sides will come back to the negotiating table in the very near future, if both of them are to shift.