NEW DELHI, Jan 12: India said on Monday it would soon discuss dates for talks with Pakistan and promised they would be unaffected by plans for early national elections. "We will consult the Government of Pakistan in the next few days and weeks and we will fix the date , we will fix the level and we will fix how the talks will proceed," Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha told India's NDTV news channel.

The nuclear rivals reached a breakthrough accord last week to open formal talks next month and expressed confidence about resolving their dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir that brought them close to a fourth war in 2002.

Mr Sinha, speaking on the sidelines of a meeting of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Hyderabad, said the level at which the dialogue would start would "be mutually decided."

His comments came after Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told the meeting of senior BJP leaders on Monday that India would hold elections "at the earliest" opportunity and he hoped a new government would be in place by April.

Mr Sinha said while the BJP was confident of being returned to power, the outcome of the election would not affect the thaw in relations with Pakistan. "Any government in office will negotiate with Pakistan from the point of view of national interest. We will initiate talks in this tenure in office and then we will see how it moves on in future."

Asked about the BJP members' urging that the government proceed cautiously in its dialogue with Pakistan, Mr Sinha said the issues with which the countries were dealing were nearly six decades old.

"Both countries realise we are dealing with complex and difficult issues and therefore will have to deal with them carefully, slowly and then resolve them."

India has said the dialogue will include discussion of divided Kashmir, while Pakistan said it would not allow its soil to be used by "terrorists".-AFP