NEW DELHI: Top officials from India and Pakistan were due to meet on Monday in New Delhi to discuss counter-terrorism and the 2008 Mumbai attacks in a new effort to advance their slow-moving peace process. The home secretaries of both countries are also expected to discuss the drugs trade during two days of talks that will look to build on recent momentum and a thaw in relations brought on by their shared love of cricket. India and Pakistan will meet in the semi-final of the cricket World Cup on Wednesday in an explosive encounter that has been seized on by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as an opportunity to improve ties. Singh has invited his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani to watch the game with him in what will be a rare meeting between the two leaders, who last sat down for talks in Bhutan in April last year. The discussions on Monday between India's home secretary G.K. Pillai and his Pakistani counterpart Chaudhary Qamar Zaman are expected to focus on the Mumbai attacks of 2008, carried out by extremists who travelled from Pakistan. India broke off formal peace talks with its neighbour after the attack that left 166 dead and has repeatedly called on Islamabad to bring the perpetrators to justice. Pakistan has charged seven people but none has been convicted. Last month, both countries announced they would resume a formal peace dialogue with a view to resolving all issues between them, including the vexed subject of Kashmir, which is jointly administered by them. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since the subcontinent was partitioned in 1947, including two over Kashmir. The international community has been pushing both countries back to the negotiating table to help ease tensions in an already volatile region.
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