India is interested in having direct air link between New Delhi and Islamabad and in increasing the number of flights between the two countries, an Indian commerce department official said.

The two countries currently have twelve flights a week linking Indian cities Delhi and Mumbai with Pakistan's Lahore and Karachi, but there is presently no air link between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the commerce department official also said that if Pakistan responds positively to the proposal then it would be discussed during the upcoming commerce secretary-level talks between the two countries.

The official said, "We have already written to the Pakistani government indicating that we are interested in more flights between India and Pakistan, mostly to and from the capitals and connecting them to important cities."

The official also expressed hope that they would get a positive response from Pakistan.

When contacted, a Pakistani commerce ministry official said that their ministry would scrutinize the proposal, but added that more air links would make commercial sense only if visa norms are eased for all people.

Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma recently announced that India and Pakistan had already reached an accord to ease their bilateral visa regimes for businesses and that an agreement to this effect would be signed very soon.