Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry (R) and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyan Jaishankar smile before their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Islamabad, March 3, 2015.FAISAL MAHMOOD/Reuters
India's foreign secretary arrived in Pakistan on a two-day visit Tuesday, marking the first high-level meeting since talks broke down between the two nuclear-armed rivals last year.
Subrahmanyan Jaishankar met with his Pakistani counterpart, Aizaz Chaudhry, at the foreign ministry in Islamabad, and was expected to meet later with Sartaj Aziz, the prime minister's adviser on national security and foreign affairs.
Pakistan and India have fought three wars since the countries gained independence from Britain in 1947.
The two have long tried to mend their differences without making much progress. The biggest sticking point has been the future of Kashmir, a Himalayan region both claim. Relations were also severely damaged by the 2008 attacks on the Indian city of Mumbai, which India blames on Pakistani militants.
In a sign of progress, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended the oath-taking of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi last May.
But then in August India called off talks with Pakistan after Islamabad's ambassador in New Delhi met with Kashmiri separatist leaders.
Tensions escalated late last year when both countries traded fire several times along the de-facto border, killing several people. Just last week, Pakistani army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif warned India that any provocations on its part would exact a "befitting response" from Islamabad.
Pakistani officials have said little about what will be discussed during the visit. Indian media reported last month that Jaishankar was visiting member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.