According to a joint statement issued in Islamabad at the conclusion of a meeting between officials from India and Pakistan on the issue, the service would likely start by the middle of next month.

Raghunath, however, told the Standing Committee, chaired by former prime minister I K Gujral, that India would try and push the dates forward by about a week.

The legal details of the inter-governmental agreement need to be worked out and dry runs have to be conducted. Officials from both sides, after being pushed by their respective governments, now seem quite enthused that the idea is quickly translated into practice.

Gujral said he was happy with the ``positive tenor'' of the talks between the two countries, not only on the bus service but also on the sale of electricity and sugar. India has alreadybought 4 lakh tonnes of sugar from Pakistan and is expected to buy another 5.5 lakh tonnes.

On power, ironically, Pakistan now seems eager and willing to sell about 500 MW, even though last year then Pakistani foreign minister Gohar Ayub had insisted that the Kashmir issue be first resolved before any such sale could take place.

The precondition came during the Commonwealth summit in Edinburgh during the meeting between the prime ministers of India and Pakistan. While Nawaz Sharif seemed quite keen on the sale, sources said, Gohar Ayub intervened in the prime ministerial conversation and laid down the Kashmir pre-condition. The sources pointed out that as Pakistan's minister for power & water resources, Gohar Ayub will now be heading the talks on the sale of electricity to India.