Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Ashfaq Kayani called for a negotiated end to the stalemate and said the glacier should be demilitarised after an avalanche on April 7 killed 140 people at army camp.

The two days of talks between the most senior civil servants at India and Pakistan's defence ministries were being held at the ministry in Rawalpindi.

"The two sides will discuss Siachen and other matters related to defence affairs," Sohail Aftab, defence ministry spokesman, told AFP.

It is the 13th round of talks between the nuclear-armed rivals on Siachen. All previous discussions have ended in stalemate.

The Indian delegation is being led by S.K. Sharma and the Pakistani side by Nargis Sethi. The Indian visitors were to meet Pakistan's Defence Minister Naveed Qamar later on Monday, but Pakistan provided no further details.

A joint statement will be issued on Tuesday, the spokesman said.