THIS weekend Agra, the city of the world famous Taj Mahal palace, near New Delhi, India, hosts a summit between the leaders of India and Pakistan, the outcome of which will affect almost a fifth of mankind.

The Pakistani President, General Pervaiz Musharraf, flies to New Delhi tomorrow at the invitation of Atal Behari Vajpayee, the Prime Minster of India.

Meetings between neighbouring heads of government are not unusual, but this is the first such meeting between the leaders of the two countries for five years.

As a result everybody interested in relations between the world's two newest nuclear powers is interested in the Taj Summit.

The Pakistani President will not only meet Indian Government leaders but will also meet the leadership of the Kashmiri Muslims in Indian-occupied Kashmir and even visit his birthplace in New Delhi.

Most Indians and Pakistanis are thankful such a meeting is taking place at all, as it could be the beginning of the long march towards a peaceful settlement between the two nations.

However, most commentators do not expect too much from this meeting, as the two countries have fought three full-scale wars since independence from Britain in August 1947.

The summit therefore, should be seen as an exercise in confidence building as there is a lot of distrust between the two neighbours.

As far as Pakistan is concerned, it is clear that the unsolved status of Kashmir is the biggest issue which has soured relations between the two countries.

Kashmir is a land-locked mountainous state in the Himalayas of over ten million people, which is over 80 per cent Muslim and it is closely linked to Pakistan through religion, history, language, culture, ethnicity, geography, road and the river systems.

While a third of Kashmir is under Pakistani control and known as Azad (free) Kashmir, two thirds of the state has been under Indian occupation since 1947.

At the beginning, the Indian government promised the Kashmiri people they would be allowed to determine their own destiny through a plebiscite.

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

It would be a good idea for both countries during this summit to explore the benefits to be had from having friendly relations.

Surely, if Germany, France and Britain can join the European Union, it is not impossible for India and Pakistan to have much closer relations. But to move towards this goal requires the lancing of the Kashmir problem.

Most of High Wycombe's Asian community has its origins in Azad Kashmir and is anxiously looking forward to the outcome of the summit, as a relaxed atmosphere in the region may reunite divided families and promote a long-awaited exercise in self-determination for their kith and kin.