NEW DELHI, May 3: Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri has accepted India's suggestion to resume business ties before resolving the issue of Kashmir, in which he has put two gas pipeline projects high on the agenda, Indian reports on Saturday quoted him as saying.

Describing Mr Kasuri's remarks as an important policy shift, Press Trust of India quoted him as telling the BBC's Hindi service on Friday that the two countries should start their proposed talks first at the official level to graduate to foreign ministers' level before going into a summit.

"India has always said that it wanted to talk about trade issues and we have insisted that Kashmir should be discussed first...now we accept India's argument and would like India to take the first step," Kasuri told the BBC, as monitored by PTI.

He proposed that gas pipelines to India from Turkmenistan and Iran be laid through Pakistan and said Islamabad was ready to give international guarantees to ensure that gas flow would not suffer even in the event of war or hostilities.

"India says we will profit from business and now we are also saying this. This is a new thing," Kasuri said.

On India's charge that Pakistan was promoting cross-border terrorism, the minister said: "There are many issues which we can discuss face to face."

Kasuri said before the prime ministers or foreign ministers of the two countries could meet, official-level discussions were necessary.

He said Pakistan's proposals to normalize ties with India were the result of "collective thinking".

APP adds: He said the recent emergence of positive signs in India-Pakistan relations "are not the result of any external pressure."

Projection of such an impression by certain quarters "is a negative approach," the minister said. "I look at it in a more positive sense," he said.

"We are interested in a meaningful dialogue. If India wishes to talk to us meaningfully on a bilateral basis, we would welcome that," he said.

Asked what had been going on behind-the-scenes to lead up to this rapprochement, Mr Kasuri said: " I can only assume that good sense is prevailing."

"I must pay complement to Prime Minister Vajpayee for his statesmanship."

Similar views were expressed by Mr Kasuri in interviews with two Indian TV channels.

On Friday, India and Pakistan announced their decision to restore full diplomatic relations.