India and Pakistan, two of the largest and fastest-developing countries in South Asia, have resumed peace talks in Islamabad on Tuesday.

This is the first time the top officials of the two countries meet for talks since the new civilian government took over in Pakistan after defeating President Pervez Musharraf’s allies. There were attempts to hold talks on the peace process between the two countries last year, but authorities postponed the session due to political instability.

The talks come on a shadowy background caused by the death of an Indian soldier killed in an exchange of fire across the de facto border. However, Pakistani authorities denied any involvement in the incident.

The Indian-Pakistani peace talks have begun four years ago, the main point of discussion being the province of Kashmir, but the two sides have made little progress. Kashmir, a Muslim majority region, is currently divided between the two countries.

The session was opened by India’s Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir. The peace talks will be continued tomorrow, when Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi will meet, BBC reported.

The stated intention of the officials organizing this session of peace talks is to review the progress made in the last round of discussions and prepare for the next stage.

Musharraf came with some proposals on Kashmir, where he said he managed to stop the infiltration of Islamist militants into India. The militants are fighting the Indian rule in Kashmir.

Although the city of Jaipur was the target of a ferocious series of bombings, the Indian authorities did not blame the Islamist militants this time.

Although Pakistan’s new government is expected to continue Musharraf’s policy regarding the relations with India, numerous analysts believe the rifts within Pakistan's new coalition may cause further political instability which will hold back the peace process.