ISLAMABAD, Feb 13: Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh will hold wide-ranging talks with his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri here on Wednesday afternoon and call on President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz earlier in the day, diplomatic sources told Dawn on Sunday.

Mr Singh is scheduled to arrive here on Tuesday evening from Kabul on a three-day trip, the first bilateral visit by an Indian foreign minister to Pakistan in more than a decade. He will be accompanied by his Foreign Secretary Shayam Saran and senior officials.

Significantly, this will be the first high-level interaction between the two countries since the Nov 24, 2004, meeting between Prime Minister Aziz and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh in New Delhi to keep the peace process on track.

The two foreign ministers will hold delegation-level talks at the foreign ministry on Wednesday afternoon. At the talks the two sides would review the progress made so far in the composite dialogue and take up important questions regarding the peace process. On top of the agenda will be Kashmir and peace and security, informed sources said.

Pakistan's High Commissioner to India Aziz Ahmed Khan is also in town for the talks at which foreign secretary-designate Riaz Mohammad Khan will make his debut. In the evening, Mr Kasuri will host a dinner in honour of his Mr Singh and members of his delegation.

The visit is being watched with great interest in both countries in the backdrop of the India-Pakistan dispute over the Baglihar dam and postponement of the 13th Saarc Summit caused by Indian prime minister's last-minute withdrawal from the Dhaka summit conference.

In Islamabad, Mr Natwar Singh's forthcoming visit is seen as an opportunity for Pakistan to re-assess the political will of India to re-engage and sustain the dialogue process that so far has failed to produce any positive movement towards the resolution of all outstanding issues, including Jammu and Kashmir.

Officials here say if all goes well and progress is made in some areas a joint press statement would be issued at the end of the talks. According to sources close to the government, Pakistan's thrust at the talks would be on implementation of the CBMs already announced by the two countries, particularly the start of Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service.