A Pakistani delegation led by Defence Secretary Hamid Nawaz Khan began negotiations on a 1990 proposal to demilitarise the 6,300-metre (20,700-foot) high glacier, which divides Kashmir and overlooks Chinese-ruled territory.

The two-day talks between Khan and his Indian counterpart Ajai Vikram Singh are the first talks in seven years between the nuclear-capable rivals' defence secretaries.

"The two secretaries and their delegations are examining the various proposals before them on the de-escalation of the Siachen glacier," an Indian official at the talks told AFP.

Sources close to the talks said Pakistani side was expected to press for a pullback of troops to the level of the ceasefire reached after the last full-fledged war between India and Pakistan in 1971.

The Indian army holds vantage points on the 72-kilometre (45-mile) long Siachen glacier, with Pakistani troops at lower positions.

Indian military analysts have questioned the wisdom of the costly deployment at Siachen, which is supplied by air and where sub-zero temperatures claim more lives than fighting.

A ceasefire has been in place on the glacier since November as part of a border truce between India and Pakistan in disputed Kashmir.

The talks are part of a dialogue revived in January. India and Pakistan met Tuesday and Wednesday on building cultural and people-to-people ties, although they did not announce any major agreement.

More discussions are scheduled in August on trade, defusing a maritime dispute and cracking down on drug trafficking.

India and Pakistan, which have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir since 1947, sent a million troops to their borders after the Indian parliament was attacked in December 2001 by Islamic rebels New Delhi said were sponsored by Islamabad. Pakistan denied the charge.

WAR.WIRE