Pakistan PM in debut India visit

Mr Aziz (left) was met by Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh

Pakistani Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has begun talks in Delhi on his first official visit to India.

He met Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh, after which the two sides stressed their commitment to dialogue.

Mr Aziz, who is touring South Asian capitals as head of the Saarc regional grouping, meets his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, on Wednesday.

His trip comes as peace talks between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir dispute are finely balanced.

QUICK GUIDE

Kashmir dispute

"Both sides felt the dialogue should continue to move forward," said Indian foreign ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna after the first round of talks between Mr Aziz and Foreign Minister Singh on Tuesday.

The BBC's Nick Bryant in Delhi says no major breakthroughs are expected during Mr Aziz's visit and officials on both sides have been playing down its significance.

Our correspondent says the talks come at a delicate moment in the peace process, a week after India's prime minister ruled out redrawing Kashmir's borders.

'Long road'

Speaking to the BBC on Monday, Mr Aziz was upbeat and said he hoped his two-day trip would give dialogue fresh momentum.

Indian has pulled back some of its troops from Kashmir

"I think we are substantially ahead of where we were 12 months ago, but there's a long road ahead of us and we must address various issues, including the issue of Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

Last week, India began a limited withdrawal of troops stationed in the disputed state to coincide with a visit by Prime Minister Singh.

But the Indian leader rejected a proposal by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to consider redrawing the borders in Kashmir, which both countries claim.

His comments received a cool reception in Islamabad.

Regional ties

The Pakistani premier is visiting the seven South Asian capitals in his capacity as chairman of the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc).

The regional body, which aims to promote closer economic relations in a region where some of the world's poorest people live, has made little headway because of the tense relations between India and Pakistan.

Mr Aziz, who took office in August, first travelled to Sri Lanka for talks with President Chandrika Kumaratunga and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse on economic co-operation and trade.

He then headed to the Maldives en route to Delhi.