India and Pakistan began Thursdaytwo days of talks on the military standoff in the world's highest battlefield in Siachen.

An eight-member Pakistani delegation led by Defense Secretary Lt. Gen. (retired) Hamid Nawaz Khan held the talks with his Indiancounterpart Ajai Vikram Singh and his team at the conference hall of the Defense Ministry, the Indo-Asian News Service reported.

The talks will continue Friday.

The talks are significant because this is the first time in nearly six years that the two sides are sitting down to discuss Siachen where their troops have been in a state of confrontation since 1984.

Pakistan wants India to withdraw its troops from the glacier tothe 1972 positions.

Indian troops currently hold advantageous positions in Siachen along the Saltoro Ridge.

Under the circumstances, both sides are expected to discuss steps to strengthen the current ceasefire along the 110-km Actual Ground Position Line on the glacier.

The Siachen standoff is one of eight issues covered under the composite dialogue process the two nations initiated to resolve bilateral issues, including Kashmir.

The two sides had held six rounds of unsuccessful talks on Siachen before it was included in the composite dialogue process in 1998. The stalled process was revived early this year.

Source: Xinhua