New Delhi, Jan. 3: Officials are busy activating the joint mechanism on terror between India and Pakistan as foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee prepares for his maiden trip to Islamabad on January 12.

The mechanism was put in place during the foreign-secretary-level talks in November as terrorism was seen as the main sticking point between the two sides in resuming the stalled peace process.

The date for the first meeting of the mechanism, headed by officials of additional-secretary rank, however, has not been fixed yet. Both sides are expected to exchange notes only after Mukherjee’s two-day visit.

Although the main purpose of the visit would be to invite Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for April’s Saarc summit in Delhi, the neighbours are likely to begin the process of the next round of the composite-level dialogue during the trip.

“The composite-dialogue process will be reviewed at the foreign-minister level when Mukherjee meets his Pakistani counterpart, Khursheed Mehmood Kasuri,” said a foreign ministry official.

The activation of the joint mechanism on terrorism is a key factor as there has been confusion between the two sides on its scope. Pakistan is reluctant to include acts of violence in Kashmir as terrorist strikes and wants it to be restricted to other parts of the country.

Delhi is also waiting for Pakistan’s response to the “material” on terror acts in the country. India had handed over the papers linking Pakistani groups with the bombings during the November talks.

A Pakistani diplomat said the interior ministry would assess the documents before preparing the response. But, Pakistani officials said, there was no backtracking on the commitment to jointly address the menace of terrorism.

Indian officials see the joint mechanism as a test of Pakistan’s sincerity in addressing Delhi’s concerns on terrorism.

The documents pertained to certain leads in the investigations, which India wanted Pakistan to verify. Indian investigating agencies have traced links of the terror groups to some cities in Pakistan.