ISLAMABAD, Feb 6: The first meeting of the joint anti-terrorism mechanism established by Pakistan and India last year will be held in Islamabad from March 6 to 7.

This was announced separately by the foreign ministries of the two countries on Tuesday. Pakistan Foreign Office Spokesperson Tasnim Aslam told a weekly news briefing here that the dates proposed by Pakistan had been accepted by the Indian side which would be represented at the inaugural meeting by a three-member delegation.

She said the purpose of the panel, headed by the additional secretaries (UN) of the two foreign ministries, was to prevent terrorist acts in the two countries. She explained that this was the forum if the two countries required each other’s assistance or wanted to share information on terrorism.

She characterised it as a “quick, informal method” for sharing of related information.

Responding to a query, she clarified that the mechanism was not meant for meeting between the intelligence chiefs.

AFP adds from New Delhi: The three-member Indian delegation would be led by K.C. Singh, a senior bureaucrat in India's foreign ministry who deals with international organisations, a statement said.

The mandate of the anti-terror panel was to “identify and implement counter-terrorism initiatives and investigations,” it added. The initiative followed the July train bombings in India's financial capital Mumbai that killed 186 people.

India later alleged that the Inter-Services Intelligence had a role in the Mumbai attacks (a claim denied by Islamabad) and abruptly suspended peace talks launched in January 2004. The formal constitution of the panel was announced in November, when top diplomats resumed peace talks in New Delhi.