Indian and Pakistani officials met in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss measures to counter terrorism and exchange information to assist in investigations related to terrorist acts.

The joint Anti-Terrorism Mechanism met for the third time after it was set up in line with a decision taken during a meeting between President Pervez Musharraf [Images] and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh [Images] on the margins of the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Havana in September 2006.

According to reports, India may raise the recent terror attacks in Jaipur, Ajmer and Hyderabad in the meeting while Pakistan is expected to sought details of last year's Samjhauta Express blast.

During a meeting in Islamabad in May to resume the composite dialogue process, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his Pakistani counterpart Shah Mahmood Qureshi expressed their commitment to "fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations" and "re-emphasised the need for effective steps for the complete elimination of this menace."

Countering terrorism and drug trafficking is one of the eight issues included in the composite dialogue.

During their meeting, Mukherjee and Qureshi also "reaffirmed their determination not to let terrorism impede the peace process."

The first meeting of the Anti-Terrorism Mechanism was held in Islamabad on March 6, 2007, and its second meeting took place in New Delhi on October 23 the same year.