India and Pakistan met yesterday in Islamabad for the first of three days of preliminary talks aimed at rebuilding fractured diplomatic relations.

Indian external affairs minister, Arun Kumar Singh, and director general for South Asia at the Pakistani foreign ministry, Jalil Abbas Jilani, discussed the contentious issue of Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan region, which the two nuclear-capable countries both claim jurisdiction over.

Masood Khan, a Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman, discerned a “new momentum” and said the meetings made some progress beyond the belligerent rhetoric of the past.

He added: “There is realisation in India and Pakistan that war is not an option, that you have to look at ways to find a peaceful resolution of the outstanding disputes between the two countries.”

He said the meeting took place in a “cordial atmosphere and constructive manner”.

Last month, Indian prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf both agreed to establish a new era of entente between the neighbouring countries.

EU foreign affairs chief Javier Solana welcomed the new rapprochement, describing it as an “important and concrete” step towards peace between the nuclear-armed nations.