Islamabad  - Senior foreign ministry officials of India and Pakistan Tuesday reviewed the peace process between the two nuclear-armed arch rivals and began fresh efforts to settle some of the disputes over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir.

Top bureaucrats from both sides kicked off the talks which will be taken over by Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Pakistani counterpart, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, on Wednesday.

"The foreign secretaries of the two countries expressed satisfaction at the progress made so far and exchanged views on carrying forward the composite dialogue," Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Mukherjee arrived in Islamabad on the eve of his meeting and is scheduled to call on Pakistani leaders, including those leading political parties forming the new coalition government in Islamabad.

He emphasized the need to fight terrorism and develop trust and cooperation between the two South Asian neighbours on his arrival in Islamabad.

The Indian city of Jaipur was hit by a string of bombings last week that killed at least 63 people and wounded more than 150 others. Islamic militants were suspected for the attacks.

The parleys in Islamabad will focus on security matters as well as the core dispute of Kashmir and other territorial issues.

The talks have been overshadowed by recent Indian claims about Pakistan's repeated violation of a four-year-old ceasefire at the virtual border that divides the Himalayan region of Kashmir between the two countries.

Meanwhile, Islamabad on Tuesday announced the release of 99 Indian prisoners detained in several jails as a "goodwill gesture."

Pakistan will be releasing 96 fishermen and three civilians on Saturday, according to Rehman Malik, the security adviser to Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.

The two-day discussions have gained significance with a new coalition government in Islamabad, which was sworn in in late March after political allies of President Pervez Musharraf were defeated in the February 18 elections.

However, slain former premier Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan People's Party (PPP), which is leading the coalition, has reiterated the resolve to take forward the so-called composite dialogue that the neighbours launched in 2004 after nearly going for their fourth war since their independence in 1947 from imperial Britain.

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