ISLAMABAD, Feb 14: Senior Pakistani and Indian foreign ministry officials will meet in Islamabad on Monday to mark the resumption of the long-stalled "composite dialogue" aimed to settle all outstanding issues between the two arch-rivals , including the dispute over Jammu and Kashmir.

The February 16-18 round of the talks is being held in pursuance a path-breaking accord between President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee last month on the sidelines of last month's three-day summit meeting in Islamabad of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc).

A Foreign Ministry statement on Saturday said the dialogue would begin with joint secretary-level meetings on Feb 16- 17, to be followed by talks between foreign secretaries of the two countries - Mr Riaz H. Khokhar of Pakistan and Mr Shashank of India - on Feb 18.

Pakistan Foreign Affairs Ministry's Director-General for South Asia Jalil Abbas Jilani and Indian External Affairs Ministry's Joint Secretary Arun K. Singh will represent their respective countries in the Feb 16-17 meetings.

No official word was immediately available about the agenda of the talks, which are taking place at this level after about six years, and whether more such rounds will be held before possible talks between foreign ministers and then at the summit level.

In a joint statement after their Jan 5 meeting, President Musharraf and Mr Vajpayee had voiced their confidence that the resumption of the composite dialogue will lead to a peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, to the satisfaction of both sides."

In June 1997, the foreign secretaries of the two countries had agreed on an eight-point framework for what was described as "composite dialogue."

Under that arrangement, the foreign secretaries of the two countries were to deal with the two areas of Kashmir and peace and security while other secretaries were to address the remaining six areas - the disputes over Siachen Glacier, Wullar Barrage and Sir Creek and the questions about trade, people-to- people contacts, and terrorism and drugs.

The talks beginning on Monday follow a series of confidence- building measures taken by the two countries after a period of heightened tensions and a military standoff triggered by an attack on Indian parliament in December 2001 that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based Kashmiri militants.

In recent months, the two sides have restored full diplomatic relations, enforced a ceasefire along the Line of Control dividing Kashmir, and resumed air, road and rail links that were cut off after the parliament attack.

The two countries have also agreed to discuss the start of bus services between Azad Kashmir and Indian-held Kashmir and between Khokhrapar in Sindh province and Munabao in India.