NEW DELHI, May 5 (Xinhuanet) -- The defense secretaries of India and Pakistan will meet in Islamabad May 25-26 to discuss the demilitarization of Siachen and an end to the standoff between their troops on the world's highest battlefield, Indo-Asian News Service reported.

    The talks on Siachen are among a series of meetings between the two countries announced here Thursday by Indian external affairs ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna as part of bilateral confidence-building measures to carry forward their peace process.

    The announcement comes in the wake of talks between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf  here last month, during which the two leaders declared the peace process was "irreversible."

    The talks on Siachen will be held back-to-back with those on the Sir Creek boundary dispute by the surveyor generals of the two countries, also in Islamabad May 27-28.

    These talks will focus on demarcating the boundary in the gas and mineral-rich muddy estuary that divides India's Gujarat province and Pakistan's Sindh province.

    Before these two rounds of talks, officials of the two countries will meet in Lahore May 10 and 11 to discuss the proposed Amritsar-Lahore bus service and the bus service for Sikh pilgrims to religious places in Pakistan like Nankana Sahib.

    Also May 10-11, top officials of the Indian Coast Guard and Pakistan's Maritime Security Agency will hold talks in Islamabad on establishing a hotline between their organizations. Enditem