Pakistani Delegation To Meet With Indian Counterparts In New Delhi

High-ranking Indian and Pakistani officials have begun their first formal peace talks since the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks.

The two countries' home secretaries, the top civil servants in charge of security issues, met in New Delhi to mend relations broken off after Pakistani militants killed 166 people in the city of Mumbai.

The two-day talks are meant to prepare the groundwork for a ministerial meeting in July that would put issues like the disputed region of Kashmir, terrorism, and trade on the negotiating table.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, meanwhile, has invited Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to India to attend the World Cup cricket semifinal between the two neighbors on March 30.

The two countries agreed in February to resume formal peace talks.

compiled from agency reports