ISLAMABAD, April 2: An inter-ministerial meeting at the Foreign Office on Friday finalized Pakistan's strategy for the first round of talks with India on the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service next week, knowledgeable sources told Dawn.

The two-day technical-level talks between the countries will begin in Islamabad on April 8.

The 90-minute meeting reviewed and debated various recommendations before it firmed up the strategy for the upcoming talks.

Sources said that in the spirit of promoting people-to-people contact it was decided that Pakistan would enter the talks with a 'very constructive and positive' mindset.

"Despite its constraints Pakistan would like the bus service to start in order to facilitate travel by divided families of Kashmir on both sides of the Line of Control," sources maintained.

When asked how flexible Pakistan would be on the contentious question of travel documents, a foreign ministry official replied: "Pakistan will be receptive to any reasonable idea which does not undermine its position on the question of Kashmir and does not go against the wishes of Kashmiris".

The official pointed out there was consensus that Pakistan had to remain sensitive to the aspirations of the Kashmiris and it would therefore not agree to any arrangement that was unacceptable to them.

The meeting, presided over by the additional secretary South Asia, Salman Bashir, was attended by senior officials of the Kashmir affairs division, ministries of foreign affairs, interior and communications. Representatives of leading security agencies were also present.

The issue of travel documents is bound to dominate the upcoming talks. While the Indian government advocates use of passports and visas, Pakistan supports the idea of UN documents.

K.V. Rind, additional secretary in the ministry of communications, will lead the talks from Pakistan side. New Delhi has not indicated yet who will head the Indian team at the talks.