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NEW DELHI, Sunday (AFP) Pakistan will be attend a meeting of South Asian information ministers in India from today and the arch-rivals are likely to use the opportunity to raise bilateral differences, government sources said.

The three-day meeting will be attended by Pakistan Information Minister Sheikh Rashid and precedes a crucial summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to be held in Islamabad from January 4-6.

It will be the first time any Pakistani minister has been in India since President Pervez Musharraf came to attend talks in Agra in 2001, which ended in acrimony over the issue of Kashmir.

The information ministers' meeting, to be inaugurated by Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, is expected to set the tone for the January summit.

According to Indian government sources, New Delhi is likely to restrict this week's information conference to subjects related to the media and could raise the issue of a Pakistani ban on Indian films and TV channels as well as Indian artists travelling to the country.

The free movement of Indian journalists in Pakistan is also likely to be brought up by the Indian Information Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the sources said.

However the Indian side want to ensure the conference retains its multilateral character and does not focus on bilateral relations, they added. These issues could be raised at an informal level.

Rashid, is also carrying a formal invitation to Vajpayee to attend the January summit, and a "goodwill message of peace" from Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Jamali.

"I hope to call on Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to deliver our prime minister's message of peace and goodwill," Ahmed told AFP in Islamabad.

The minister said he would also try to meet with Kashmiri leaders during his stay in India.

He said Pakistan was striving for a comprehensive dialogue with India to resolve all issues including what Pakistan calls the core dispute over Kashmir, the Himalayan region split between the two countries and claimed in full by both.

Pakistan are in the middle of a delicate peace process after coming close to their fourth war last year. Since April they have been mending ties and have reappointed ambassadors to each others' capitals.

Both sides have pledged to move towards long-suspended dialogue but no dates have been set. Last month, India sought progress in normalising relations with Pakistan, offering 12 measures including restoration of full sporting ties and increased transport links.

Over the past decade, SAARC meetings have been a forum for India and Pakistan to rake up their bilateral disputes, particularly over Kashmir.

A summit was to have been held in Islamabad in January this year but India failed to confirm its attendance amid tensions with Pakistan and it was cancelled.

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