India and Pakistan took a giant leap to put more than a half-century of bloodshed behind them, agreeing yesterday to start talks next month on core disputes of nationalism and religion that have taken the nuclear-armed nations into three wars.

　　The talks will touch on all topics, including the flashpoint issue of Kashmir, foreign ministers from both countries said in a joint statement.

　　The surprise agreement followed two days of meetings between Indian and Pakistani leaders in Islamabad under the cover of a major South Asian regional summit that provided the impetus for Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to the Pakistani capital.

　　"It is a victory for common sense. It is a victory for moderation. It is a victory for statesmanship," Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri declared later in an impassioned speech before a room packed with journalists. "It is a victory for the people of India and Pakistan. It is a victory, particularly, for the poor people of South Asia."

　　Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said details, including the location of the talks, were still to be worked out, but that the negotiations would be ongoing.

　　He expressed optimism that talks would lead to a lasting peace agreement, including on the issue of Kashmir. The Himalayan region is divided between the two countries, but claimed by both in its entirety. The dispute has claimed at least 65,000 lives since 1989.

　　"The two leaders are confident that the resumption of the composite dialogue will lead to the peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, to the satisfaction of both sides," Sinha said, reading from the joint declaration.

　　A high-ranking Indian officials said on condition of anonymity that the talks would revolve around eight points, including Kashmir and two other territorial spats, fighting terrorism, trade and confidence building measures.

　　The meetings between Vajpayee, Musharraf and Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali on Sunday and yesterday were the first between Indian and Pakistani leaders in more than two years, and they occurred in an atmosphere of optimism after months of tit-for-tat steps to improve the bilateral relations.

　　The two countries have called a cease-fire between their troops faced off in the mountain region of Kashmir, resumed high-level diplomatic ties and restored transportation links.

　　But there had been no indication such a breakthrough was possible, and both sides had sought to dampen any expectations ahead of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation summit, which concluded yesterday. Both sides had said that discussion of bilateral issues had no place at the summit.

　　The summit wrapped up yesterday after the leaders and foreign ministers of India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh signed agreements to fight terrorism, improve the lot of hundreds of millions of their poor people, and create a free trade zone area by 2006.

　　The deal came on the heels of two assassination attempts against Musharraf in December, at least one of which was believed to be carried out by militants of Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamic militant group involved in the Kashmir fighting.