"Everything that they want to discuss and everything we want to discuss with them will be discussed," Krisha said in New York on Friday.

He was responding to questions on recent Pakistan Foreign Office statement that there can be no "meaningful, result-oriented" discussions with India on Kashmir unless it stops treating it as its integral part and Qureshi's remarks seeking US intervention in resolving the Kashmir issue.

Krishna's comments came a day after he had "a chance encounter" with Qureshi at the United Nations, where they greeted each other warmly and talked about the floods in Pakistan.

"Well, I was in Islamabad and we did talk and I have invited Excellency Qureshi to come to India and he has very graciously accepted my invitation," Krishna said. "I am looking forward to hosting him in Delhi... and the dates have to be worked out."

Krishna's remarks have brightened the possibility of a substantial bilateral meeting with Qureshi, likely early next week.

Indian diplomats have yet to confirm any bilateral meeting, and sources in New Delhi only said nothing has been fixed as yet. This will be their first meeting after their last talks July 15 in Islamabad which ended in mutual recrimination over a host of issues, including Kashmir.

India has forcefully rejected Pakistan's renewed bid to internationalize the Kashmir issue by rejecting any third-party intervention in Kashmir. But despite these rhetorical exchanges on Kashmir, Krishna underlined that talks would continue.

"India wants to keep Pakistan engaged in talks because we do not see any other alternatives...talks are the only way to take this forward," he said.
 
Kashmir question

Meanwhile, India's Home Minister P. Chidambaram has said that his government would consider scaling back security forces in Kashmir.

Talking to reporterd in New Delhi on Saturday, he also offered to hold a "sustained dialogue" with Kashmiris in a bid to quell a wave of deadly anti-India unrest that has engulfed the region.

"A group of interlocutors will begin a process of sustained dialogue with all sections of the people of Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

Chidambaram outlined an eight-point package including the offer of dialogue with "all sections of society" in the disputed territory and the release of youngsters held in jail for stoning soldiers.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been accused of not taking seriously enough the largest pro-independence protests in two decades that exploded in Kashmir this summer claiming more than 100 lives.