NEW DELHI, Dec 2: India on Tuesday proposed to hold talks with Pakistan on Dec 18 and 19 on resuming passenger train services suspended after a militant attack on Indian parliament in 2001.

“Today we have proposed to Pakistan December 18 and 19 as the dates for holding technical talks on resumption of the Samjhota Express,” said India’s new foreign secretary Shashank.

The announcement came as leaders of Indian opposition parties met shortly after parliament began its winter session on Tuesday, when they lauded the India-Pakistan peace moves, including the ceasefire along the Line of Control in Kashmir.

But diplomats remained cautious about the next crucial step that is required to come from India, whereby New Delhi has to help restore the strength of the diplomatic missions on both sides to their normal numbers before the Dec 13 attack in 2001 on the Indian parliament disrupted the ties.

“It is not going to be possible to increase the number of visas we will need to issue without commensurate staff,” a Pakistani official said.

The Indian official said that Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee would travel to Islamabad for the Saarc summit in January.

He said Mr Vajpayee would meet Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali during the visit, but details in this regard were yet to be worked out.

Indian opposition parties meanwhile welcomed the ceasefire between India and Pakistan on the LoC and in Siachen, Communist Party’s deputy Somnath Chatterjee told reporters.

Replying to a question on this issue, Mr Chatterjee who was briefing newsmen immediately after a meeting convened by him to work out opposition parties’ floor coordination in parliament, said: “We have all along been advocating for the ceasefire and for good and friendly relations with Pakistan as it serves the interest of both the neighbours.”

He said both India and Pakistan “have huge unemployment problem and friendly relations between the two countries would be the most dominating force to fulfil their economic aspirations.”

Mr Chatterjee also said that the opposition parties had agreed to bring an adjournment motion on the issue of corruption against the government on Wednesday in the ongoing, three-week- long, winter session of parliament that started on Tuesday with a day-long adjournment after passing obituary references in both houses.