'India to finalise date for resuming talks with Pakistan soon'

"This (the level of the talks) is something which will have to be mutually decided. We will consult the Government of Pakistan over the next few days and weeks. We will fix a date, we will fix the level, we will fix the venue. We will fix how the talks should proceed," Sinha told reporters.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf on Saturday said that the two countries have agreed on a "step by step approach" under which there would be "three crucial foreign secretary-level rounds of talks" beginning next month.

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On reports that National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra and his Pakistani counterpart, Tariq Aziz will be appointed special envoys to speed up the process, Sinha said, "No decision has been taken as yet," while observing that all these things "still have to be determined".

On the BJP cautioning the NDA Government, he said the party had congratulated the Prime Minister for the breakthrough that he achieved in "very uncertain circumstances" during his trip to Islamabad.

ANI adds: Keen to stymie the negative impact of the two assassination attempts on President Pervez Musharraf, the Pakistan government is likely to ban more Jihadi groups.

Informed intelligence sources told the Daily Times that for a start a ban could be imposed on the Harkatul Jihad-e-Islami (HJI) and the Jamiatul Mujahideen (JM) on the basis of evidence that they were involved in the suicide attacks of December 14 and 25.