ISLAMABAD, March 27: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz will hold restricted-level talks with his Indian counterpart Dr Manmohan Singh on April 4 where issues of Kashmir and Siachen will figure high on the agenda, it is learnt.

The meeting will take place on the sidelines of the 14th Saarc summit conference in New Delhi. “The meeting between the two prime ministers is scheduled for next Wednesday and it will be a one plus four affair with key aides from both sides,” diplomatic sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

From the Pakistan side Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri, Foreign Secretary Riaz Mohammad Khan, High Commissioner Shahid Malik and foreign ministry’s point-man on India, director-general (South Asia Division) Jalil Abbas Jilani would be present at the meeting.

It is not clear yet whether the two leaders would also have a one-to-one session before or after the restricted-level talks.

Although one hour has been slotted for the meeting, sources say it could go on beyond that.

Notably this will be the first top-level political contact between the two countries after the Sept 2006 Musharraf-Manmohan meeting on the sidelines of the NAM summit in Cuba that marked the resumption of the peace process. Also, the first since the inaugural meeting of the Joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism and launch of the fourth round of the Composite Dialogue this month.

The talks would cover all aspects of bilateral relations with particular focus on key issues of Jammu & Kashmir, Siachen, Sir Creek, and trade matters, informed sources told Dawn. Significantly, the meeting between the two prime ministers will take place just two days before the crucial defence secretary-level talks on the Siachen Glacier issue being hosted by Pakistan.