Top Indian, Pakistani Diplomats To Meet In Islamabad

Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao (left) and her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir (centre)

Top Indian and Pakistani diplomats are to open two days of scheduled talks in a bid to push forward the peace process between the nuclear-armed neighboring rivals.

Nirupama Rao, the top career diplomat in India's Foreign Ministry, is due to meet her Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on June 23.

The discussions are expected to focus on topics including terrorism and the disputed Kashmir territory.

Pakistan and India resumed formal peace contacts in February.

The process had collapsed after an attack on the Indian city of Mumbai by Pakistan-based militants, which left 166 people dead, in November 2008.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the subcontinent was partitioned in 1947, two of them over Kashmir.

compiled from agency reports