Islamabad  - Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee met Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf Wednesday before beginning formal talks with his counterpart to advance the tardy four-year-old peace process between the two countries.

Musharraf assured Mukherjee of Islamabad's commitment to normalize relations between the nuclear-armed rivals but reminded him of the centrality of their age-old dispute over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, local media reported.

The Indian cabinet member arrived in Islamabad on Tuesday to review progress made on peace initiatives launched by the South Asian neighbours in 2004 after pulling back from the brink of their fourth war.

Though the slow-moving peace process includes some easily agreeable issues concerning economic and cultural ties, it is dominated by the issue of Kashmir to which both countries lay their claim.

Mukherjee said he was optimistic that the composite dialogue between the two countries was moving in the right direction and would soon yield solid results.

The visiting minister also met Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, who said India, Pakistan and the Kashmiri people "must show courage, leadership, magnanimity, flexibility and a passion for peace" to find a lasting solution to the problem of Kashmir.

Mukherjee was later in the day scheduled to hold delegation-level negotiations with his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

The two would review the fourth round of peace talks, which were stalled last year when Pakistan was hit by political crisis over the twice removal of now deposed chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry by Musharraf.

The political backers of the embattled president were thrashed in February 18 elections and some degree of political stability was restored in the country, paving the way for the resumption of peace dialogue with India.

However, Mukherjee's visit was overshadowed by recent Indian claims about Pakistan's repeated violation of a four-year-old ceasefire at the virtual border that divides Kashmir between the two countries.

The peace dialogue has eight segments, covering territorial boundary issues in Kashmir, Siachen and Sir Creek, terrorism, economic cooperation and cultural exchanges, foreign ministry spokesman Mohammed Sadiq said. (dpa)