ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - The Pakistani and Indian foreign secretaries were scheduled to begin two-day talks in Islamabad later on Thursday on the longstanding Kashmir dispute, peace and security and confidence building measures, sources said.

According to the sources, the two foreign secretaries would set the stage for talks between their foreign ministers later this year.

Secretary of External Affairs Nirupama Rao heads the Indian delegation while Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir leads the Pakistani side.

Both Pakistan and India have agreed to resume their comprehensive dialogue on all bilateral issues to resolve outstanding issues in a constructive and forward-looking manner two years after India had put on hold the Composite Dialogue process with Pakistan in the aftermath of the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

The Thursday meeting was their first engagement since they met in February in Thimphu, the Bhutanese capital, on the sidelines of the South Asian summit.

The talks between the top diplomats of the two sides could lead to the first revival of talks at the ministerial level since failed talks in mid-July last year, said the sources.

Diplomatic sources said that the Indian side will also raise the issue of terrorism in the context of security issues and will press for effective action against those behind the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Xinhua