The Foreign Secretary level talks, scheduled for February 18, will be preceded by Joint Secretary level talks starting from February 16 in Islamabad.
The talks, being termed as "ice-breaking" in the diplomatic circles, come as a result of a meeting between President General Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Mir Zafarullah Khan Jamali with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on the sidelines of the 12th Saarc Summit in Islamabad.
The talks form part of the agreement reached between the two countries following a joint statement. It called for normalisation of relations and to consolidate the positive trends set by the Confidence-Building Measures (CBMs).
It was agreed between President Musharraf and Prime Minister Vajpayee to carry forward the process of normalisation and commence the process of composite dialogue in February.
The Indian delegation will arrive here on Sunday.
Junior foreign ministry officials, Director General and Joint Secretary of the two countries will meet on February 16 and 17 to set the stage for the secretary level dialogue.
Foreign Office Spokesman Masood Khan earlier said at a briefing that the agenda for the talks would be decided during the first two days of talks. This would be followed by Foreign Secretary level talks on February 18.
The talks are expected to lay the ground rules for a future composite dialogue, including the core issue of occupied Kashmir and other bilateral matters.
The initiation of a dialogue process between Pakistan and India has received wide appreciation from around the world, and important capitals have urged the two countries to sustain this process.
President Musharraf and Prime Minister Jamali have time and again urged India for resumption of dialogue "seriously and substantively" to settle all outstanding disputes, peacefully.
Diplomatic circles believe that there seems to be a clearer understanding, particularly, on the Indian side, that without discussing the core issue of occupied Kashmir nothing substantive could be achieved.
Pakistan and India last held Foreign Secretary level talks in October 1999 in Islamabad.