Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan are today resuming talks to end a conflict that has in the past five decades often defined – and destabilised – South Asia.

The peace process between India and Pakistan will not go forward until Islamabad ends its support for terrorist groups, said Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

A top militant commander blamed for 25 attacks and tourist killings has been arrested in India’s portion of Kashmir, in a major setback for the separatist rebels, police said today.

The dispute over Kashmir and measures to build confidence between nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan are expected to dominate talks when the third round of their sweeping peace process begins tomorrow.

Indian and Pakistani representatives today met to discuss formalising a pact to share information ahead of missile tests and other measures aimed at reducing the risk of nuclear conflict.

Pakistan today urged India to withdraw troops from its part of divided Kashmir, saying any such move by New Delhi would have a “very positive impact” on the peace process between the two nations.

Pakistan’s prime minister, in New Delhi for a rare meeting with his Indian counterpart amid an often-stumbling peace process, insisted today ”Pakistan wants peace with India”.

The foreign ministers of India and Pakistan prepared to resume talks today after harsh words over the weekend threatened to complicate the wide-ranging discussions that include their decades-old dispute over Kashmir.

India and Pakistan opened high-level talks today aimed at solving their decades-old dispute over Kashmir with Pakistan denying it arms and trains a separatist insurgency in the region and accusing India of human rights abuses there.

India and Pakistan today held their first substantive talks in six years on the disputed Kashmir region – one of the world’s most dangerous flashpoints and a key hurdle in their revived peace process.

Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf today urged the international community to help Pakistan and India resolve their disputes, including the territorial conflict over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan began historic meetings today aimed at preparing the way for a sustained peace dialogue on Kashmir and other disputes that have kept them at loggerheads for decades.

Indian troops shot and killed five Muslim militants in Indian-held Kashmir today in the bloodiest clash since peace talks between the government and Kashmiri separatists last week.

Islamic militants fighting Indian control over Kashmir vowed today they would not halt their insurgency despite an agreement between India and Pakistan to start peace talks that will include their bitter dispute over the divided Himalayan territory.

The leaders of India and Pakistan discussed ways to resolve the poisonous dispute over Kashmir during their historic meeting on the sidelines of a South Asian summit, Pakistani officials said today, predicting a breakthrough in relations between the nuclear-armed neighbours.

India made a dramatic U-turn in its Kashmir policy today, announcing that its deputy prime minister will hold talks with the Kashmiri separatists it has shunned and tried to discredit for 13 years.

SIX people including a pro-India politician were killed in Kashmir, where a forest gun battle between Islamic militants and Indian troops entered a fourth day yesterday.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was today becoming the first Indian prime minister in 16 years to hold a public rally in troubled Jammu-Kashmir state.

Kashmir’s ruling party failed to win enough seats to form a majority government, and may end up in opposition if it cannot form an alliance, almost complete election results showed today.

US Secretary of State Colin Powell arrived in Pakistan today from India for talks with President Pervez Musharraf.

At least 25 Hindus were killed after suspected Islamic guerrillas threw grenades and fired automatic weapons in a slum area - the deadliest attack in the disputed region in two months.

India’s prime minister was planning to visit soldiers along its tense frontier with Pakistan today, where heavy cross-border shelling has killed dozens and reignited fears of war between the nuclear-armed rivals.

Downing Street has applauded Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's condemnation of terrorist groups in his country.

President Pervez Musharraf says he will not permit terrorism on Pakistani territory and announced a crackdown on Islamic extremism.

Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf called India’s prime minister today to ask him to resume the stalled peace talks over the disputed Kashmir region.

Talks between the leaders of India and Pakistan were deadlocked tonight when both sides failed to reach an agreement on a joint declaration over the disputed Himalayan province of Kashmir.

The Indian government has invited Kashmir's main separatist group for talks to settle the five-decade-old dispute over the area.

A bomb has exploded on a bus in Indian-controlled Kashmir, killing five people and injuring 40 others.