S Asian rivals 'ready for talks'

Mr Sinha (right) says a roadmap has been worked out

Nuclear rivals India and Pakistan have indicated they could begin talking soon, just days after a US envoy visited the region.

India says, however, that the process will be in stages before any summit-level meeting takes place between the two countries' leaders.

Last month, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee made a surprise offer of dialogue to Pakistan, which was immediately reciprocated.

On Monday, two Indian soldiers were killed and nine other people injured when a grenade exploded in the town of Kupwara in Indian-administered Kashmir, according to authorities.

Despite the thaw after 18 months of hostility, both sides show little signs of changing their position on the Kashmir dispute.

We have very, very clearly worked out the entire roadmap

Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha

Kashmir has been at the heart of differences between the two countries since independence and has led to two wars between them.

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage left India on Saturday after visiting both countries. He said he was optimistic about the prospects for peace.

'Roadmap'

Speaking to India's NDTV television channel, India's Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said the structure of the dialogue process had been worked out.

We are waiting for a signal from the Indian side

Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Aziz Ahmed Khan

"We have very, very clearly worked out the entire roadmap. The final thing is to be able to reach an understanding on all the identified issues," Mr Sinha said.

He added that he hoped the violence in Indian-administered Kashmir would come down, indicating that it would help the peace process.

In Pakistan, a foreign ministry spokesman said Islamabad was ready for the start of a dialogue.

"We are waiting for a signal from the Indian side," the spokesman, Aziz Ahmed Khan, said.

But he also made it clear that there had been no change in Islamabad's stated position on Kashmir.

Missile test

In a separate development on Monday, India tested a new short-range air-to-air missile for the third time in four days.

The two rivals are taking steps to ease the tension

The Astra missile, which has a range of about 40 kilometres (25 miles), was fired from a test range at Chandipur, in the eastern coastal state of Orissa.

Similar tests were carried out on Friday and Sunday, the latter within hours of the departure of Mr Armitage.

Speaking after talks with Mr Vajpayee on Saturday, Mr Armitage said he would like to see both countries live in peace and harmony.

He praised Mr Vajpayee's offer of dialogue with Pakistan, describing it as an "act of statesmanship".

The two governments have agreed to restore full diplomatic ties.

Pakistan has already approved the appointment of a senior career diplomat, Shiv Shankar Menon, as the new Indian high commissioner.