Tuesday, December 20 2005 14:12 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Lahore: Pakistan and India today (Dec 20, 2005) began two days of talks on launching a fourth cross-border bus service as part of their peace process, officials said.

The new route would link Amritsar in the state of Punjab with the Pakistani city of Nankana Sahib - the birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev, who founded the Sikh religion.

"The talks will focus on technical details of the agreement for the Nankana Sahib-Amritsar bus service and officials will finalise the timing, frequency and fare of the bus service," a Pakistani official told sources.

The Pakistani delegation is led by additional secretary in the ministry of communications, Mohammad Abbas. Saroj Kumar Dash, joint secretary in the department of road transport and highways, is leading the Indian delegation.

"An agreement on the Amritsar-Lahore bus service is likely to be signed during the talks," Abbas told reporters before the talks started.

The two countries launched their first bus link, between New Delhi and Lahore, in 1999. The service was suspended following a deadly raid on India's parliament in December 2001, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

A second bus link opened between Srinagar and Muzaffarabad in April after a thaw in ties.

A third bus service connecting Amritsar with Lahore is scheduled to start operating in the last week of December. Trial runs have been conducted.