NEW DELHI, Jan 4: The Indian government on Thursday cleared Foreign Minister Pranab Mukhejee’s agenda for talks in Pakistan this month and the chief minister of the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir gave his own version of what New Delhi was prepared to do about Pakistan’s idea of ‘joint management’ of the divided Himalayan region.

The Cabinet Committee on Security, headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, met to approve Mr Mukherjee’s talking points for his visit to Islamabad from Jan 13. Mr Mukherjee gave no details but said: “I obtained the brief from the cabinet committee. I apprised them (of the visit) and they approved the brief.”

The foreign minister’s visit, his first, promises to have a rare total support from all major political parties, ranging from the Bharatiya Janata Party on the right to the communists on the left flank.Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, who met the prime minister separately, said that India and Pakistan could make headway on the Kashmir issue by working out a plan for ‘joint management’ of trade, tourism and water resources in the two parts of the region, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

Mr Azad, who also met Mr Mukherjee in Delhi, said he hoped the discussions between New Delhi and Islamabad would be finalised so that the Kashmir issue was resolved for all time to come.

The chief minister, who belongs to India’s ruling Congress party, was replying to a question on his expectations from Mr Mukherjee’s visit to Pakistan next week.

Referring to the joint management formula proposed by President Gen Pervez Musharraf, Mr Azad said: “We can have joint management in tourism, water resources and trade between the two parts of Kashmir. At least there should be no problem from that side to such proposals.”

He then added: “After all, they (Pakistan) need to spell out what they mean by ‘joint management’. Such formulas need to be discussed in black and white rather than being heard only on radio and television.”

The Communist Party of India on Thursday said Mr Mukherjee’s visit to Islamabad would vastly improve the India-Pakistan peace process. “The report from the joint group constituted for a comprehensive dialogue was positive,” CPI’s General Secretary A.B. Bardhan told United News of India on phone from Kolkata where the party’s National Council is currently in session to discuss India’s economic and political situation.

The CPI’s statement came a day after Leader of the Opposition L.K. Advani praised Prime Minister Singh’s gesture in discussing the foreign policy with BJP leaders earlier this week. During his visit to Islamabad on Jan 13-14, Mr Mukherjee will meet President Musharraf and his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid M. Kasuri.

Mr Bardhan said it was a good sign that Pakistan had made some “very positive gestures and announcements to resolve all issues including Kashmir”. Mr Mukherjee is travelling to Islamabad primarily to invite President Musharraf for the 14th Saarc Summit to be held here in April but the opportunity will be used to hold talks on bilateral issues like terrorism, Jammu and Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, trade and confidence-building measures, PTI said.

Asked about his expectations from the trip, Mr Mukherjee said: "I hope the visit will be good."