India, Pakistan prime ministers hold talks in Bhutan (1st Lead)

Apr 29, 2010, 12:03 GMT

New Delhi - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani held talks on the sidelines of a regional summit in Bhutan Thursday, raising hopes of a thaw in relations.

Singh and Gilani engaged in one-on-one talks for over 50 minutes, the NDTV news channel reported.

This was followed by discussions that included the foreign ministers of the two countries.

India broke off four-year-long talks between the two countries after a terrorist attack in Mumbai in 2008 which it blamed on a Pakistan-based militant group.

Top foreign ministry officials of the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours, which have a history of bitter relations, met in New Delhi in February after a gap of 15 months but that meeting led to little progress in resuming the stalled dialogue.

The composite dialogue had covered several contentious issues between the two nations, including the dispute over the Kashmir region, differences over border demarcation and sharing of river waters.

While Pakistan has been keen on resuming the dialogue, India insists that Islamabad first take action against those it believes were responsible for the Mumbai attack that left 166 dead.

Both countries have been under pressure from the United States to resume talks as their differences are seen to impact Pakistan's efforts to fight terrorism.

Analysts say not much is expected from Thursday's talks, but the high-level meeting could mark a way forward.

The meeting takes place on the sidelines of a summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which includes Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and the Maldives.

The SAARC was formed in 1985 with the aim of accelerating regional development, but it has been overshadowed by the rivalry between India and Pakistan.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947, two of them over the disputed Kashmir region.