India, Pakistan leaders agree to resume talks

By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari agreed after summit talks on Wednesday to resume their strained peace process be scheduling a new round of talks by year's end.

The two leaders directed their foreign secretaries to "schedule meetings of the fifth round of the composite dialogue in the next three months," a joint statement said after the talks on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The talks were Zardari's first with Singh since the widower of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto won a presidential election this month to replace military leader Pervez Musharraf, who resigned under threat of impeachment.

"Both leaders acknowledged that the peace process has been under strain in recent months," the statement said.

Singh and Zardari agreed to convene a special meeting of a joint anti-terror mechanism next month to address concerns including the bombing of India's Embassy in Afghanistan in July, which killed 41 people and which the Indians blamed on Pakistani agents.

"They agreed that violence, hostility and terrorism have no place in the vision they share of the bilateral relationship, and must be visibly and verifiably prevented," said the statement.

The nuclear-armed rivals' so-called composite dialogue covers eight areas including the divided Himalayan region of Kashmir, border disputes, terrorism and economic cooperation.

The neighbors launched peace efforts in 2004 after nearly going to war a fourth time over Islamist militant attacks in India linked to a nearly 20-year revolt against Indian rule in Kashmir which Pakistan supports, at least politically.