Singh met General Musharraf at his official Army House residence in Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, for almost one hour and a half, a foreign ministry official said.

During the meeting Musharraf "emphasised the need for simultaneous progress" on all issues, particularly the dispute over Kashmir, which lies at the heart of decades of mutual mistrust and hostility between the two South Asian neighbours, both armed with nuclear weapons since 1998.

"It was important to address this (Kashmir) issue with sincerity with a view to reaching a final settlement that accorded fully with the legitimate aspirations of the Kashmiris within a reasonable timeframe," Musharraf said, according to a foreign ministry statement.

Musharraf reiterated "Pakistan's commitment to making the composite dialogue process a success".

Singh, who took up the post in May after the surprise election victory of India's left-leaning Congress Party, was in Islamabad for a regional summit of foreign ministers Tuesday and Wednesday. He has already met his counterpart Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri and Prime Minister Chaudhry Shujaat.

Singh's meeting with Musharraf came after a series of low-level bilateral talks, which followed a January agreement between the South Asian foes to resume dialogue for the first time since nearly going to war in 2002.

The rival neighbours are conducting a series of confidence-building measures and talks before tackling the territorial dispute over Kashmir.

Singh later left for New Delhi saying he was returning with a "renewed determination to work with Pakistan bilaterally to normalise our relations and resolve our differences."

He said he found the attitude of the Pakistani leadership "constructive and positive".

Singh described his talks with Musharraf as warm, frank and realistic. "No aspect of our relationship, including Jammu and Kashmir, was left out of our warm, frank and realistic discussions."

Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan and claimed in full by both, caused two of their three wars and nearly triggered a fourth conflict in 2002 after India blamed an attack on its parliament on Pakistan-based Islamic militants fighting Indian rule in Kashmir.

Relations began to thaw in April last year after Vajpayee's offer of dialogue and both countries embarked on reciprocal confidence-building measures.

The foreign ministers have met three times since June, the latest meeting held Wednesday on the sidelines of the South Asia foreign ministers' forum.

Singh and Kasuri discussed reopening consulates in their respective commercial capitals Bombay and Karachi, returning their high commissions to normal staffing levels, and a proposed bus service between their respective zones of Kashmir.

Talks on water-sharing, terrorism, trade, border demarcation disputes in southern marshlands and the Siachen glacier in Kashmir's far north, the world's highest battleground, are scheduled from July 28.

Analysts said this week's talks between Singh and Pakistani leaders were exploratory and unlikely to reach any concrete conclusions.

"Basically this is a preliminary session and it is too early to expect a breakthrough in this round," former Pakistani diplomat Kamal Matinuddin told

"It is going to be more of a probing discussion to know each other's views.

"As far as Kashmir is concerned it is too early to say the two sides will come up with any concrete proposal."

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