Siddiqa: It will take years of normalcy. There is no mantra to improve relations in the short-to-medium term. We will remain as we are until economic realities bring us together. Both countries can benefit through economic cooperation and people-to-people linkages. The common people must understand the logic of benefiting economically from each other and peace in the region. Currently, the peace process is too elitist and does not reach the common man.

Nayar: For normalisation, we need a free flow of information -- newspapers, television channels and films. We need free visas and free movement.

Is it too late to begin?

Siddiqa: Relations will have to improve. There is no other way for South Asia to move forward. One does not have to be impatient.

Nayar: I am hopeful. Things aren't bright now, but will improve. I see changes. The globe is shrinking. From Afghanistan to Myanmar, we should have soft borders -- one currency, one passport -- and one big South Asian market.

We should be proud to be South Asians. Indians and Pakistanis must realise we have one spiritual tradition and our value system is the same. Among Western countries, what is common is science and technology. But we have what the West can't boast of: Our spiritual heritage is our common asset. That should bind and unite us.

Photograph: Indian Border Security Force jawans escort the Amritsar-Lahore-Amritsar bus at the India-Pakistan Wagah border. Photograph: Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images Also read: Kashmir: 'Everybody knows the solution'

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