India accepts Pak dates for nuke talks

The Pakistani proposals for the dates of the talks, which had been agreed when the leaders of India and Pakistan met in Islamabad in January, was made earlier this month through the Indian high commission in the Pakistani capital.

"We have today conveyed our acceptance of these dates," the Indian foreign ministry in the statement said.

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The proposed talks are part of efforts by the arch-rivals to mend ties and resume dialogue which has been stalled since July 2001.

India and Pakistan decided to resume talks after a ground breaking meeting between Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf on January 6 in Islamabad on the sidelines of a regional summit.

Following Vajpayee's meeting with Musharraf, senior officials of both sides met in mid-February for talks, which they said would continue in June.

The often-hostile neighbours' possession of nuclear arsenals has made South Asia one of the world's most feared potential nuclear flashpoints.

Many observers believed the subcontinent was on the verge of a nuclear conflict when the two sides came close to their fourth war two years ago over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

Pakistan went public as a nuclear power when it conducted a series of test nuclear explosions in May 1998, weeks after similar tests by India.

Neither side is signatory to non-proliferation treaties.

India had also agreed to hold talks on prevention of drug trafficking and smuggling on June 15-16, the Indian statement said.