"It's a positive development, and a good beginning because both sides have agreed to the ceasefire," foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said of the first-ever full ceasefire, which he said was "holding on both sides" since it began at midnight Tuesday.

"In the past President (Pervez) Musharraf would say 'Let's observe a ceasefire along the LoC and the Indians would say no'," Khan told AFP, referring to proposals by Musharraf on August 12.

On that day Musharraf told visiting Indian MPs that Pakistan was ready to broker a ceasefire with India along the LoC, but India rejected his suggestion.

"This time we took a unilateral decision and the Indians have responded positively, so it's a good beginning," the spokesman said.

The ceasefire covers the disputed 760 kilometer (471 mile) Line of Control (LoC) separating Indian and Pakistani-ruled zones of the Himalayan border region, the 230 kilometer undisputed border, and the Siachen glacier in the far north.

The rival armies skirmish almost daily over the LoC, shelling each other and killing dozens of civilians each year.

The ceasefire is a high point in slow-moving efforts to mend ties since April, when Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee agreed to work towards dialogue called for by Pakistan. The last time the two sides talked was in July 2001.

Musharraf and Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali claimed the initiative for the new ceasefire.

The two leaders "noted with pleasure that Islamabad's initiative has resulted in ceasefire between Pakistan and India on the Line of Control, working boundary and the line of actual contact," the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported Thursday.

"They expressed the hope that the observance of ceasefire would be good for peace in South Asia."

The neighbours were on the verge of war last year following an attack on India's parliament in December 2001, which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

The South Asian giants had already fought two wars over Kashmir, a Muslim majority region claimed by both since the subcontinent was divided in 1947 to create Pakistan for the region's Muslims.

India has said incursions over the LoC by rebels fighting Indian forces in its zone of Kashmir must stop before peace moves can advance further.

But Khan said the onset of winter virtually guaranteed there would be no incursions.

"In any case there are no incursions during the winter season, the activity goes down," the spokesman said.

"We're saying crossings have gone down drastically since last year."

Khan said the next step in the peace process was talks on reviving airlinks, slated for December 1 and 2 in New Delhi.

India severed all transport links after the parliament attack. So far only a cross-border bus service has been revived.

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