The Pugwash conference in the capital on the nearly six decades old Kashmir dispute put Nepal in the limelight. More so because the participants said it was a good start to the dialogue between the two South Asian nuclear rivals. The meeting brought together nearly 50 delegates including political leaders, activists and academicians from both sides of the Jammu and Kashmir Line of Control (LoC). The positive note on which the meeting ended has increased chances of Kathmandu hosting such conferences in the future. But will the Nobel-winning Pugwash, the organisers of the Kashmir-meet, mediate between the state and the Maoists in Nepal?

"We are a small organisation. It may not be feasible for us to take up such a mission given our financial and organisational constraints," said Secretary General of Pugwash Conferences, Paolo Cotta-Ramusino. "But if asked, we could do whatever was within our power to resolve the crisis at the earliest." Cotta-Ramusino said Pugwash chose Kathmandu as venue because "it's neither India nor Pakistan but very close".