India and Pakistan pledged on Monday to hold a sustained and serious dialogue for a final settlement of their dispute over Kashmir after the nuclear-armed neighbors held their first formal talks in three years. The two sides said they had made progress since a tentative peace process began last year, but as expected, no major breakthrough was announced on the explosive Kashmir row which has bedeviled ties for half a century and sparked two wars. “They held detailed exchange of views on Jammu & Kashmir and agreed to continue the sustained and serious dialogue to find a peaceful negotiated final settlement,” a joint statement said after the talks between the two countries’ top foreign ministry officials. Full Story