The prime ministers of India and Pakistan were scheduled to meet in New York on Sunday morning in a new push for improved relations on the subcontinent.

Indian premier Manmohan Singh and Pakistan's Nawaz Sharif were to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. It would be their first face-to-face meeting since Sharif was re-elected in May.

Sharif called the meeting a chance for a "new beginning" in relations between South Asia's nuclear rivals. Singh reciprocated the goodwill but downplayed expectations for the talks. He said relations cannot improve until Pakistan stops militants from launching attacks in India.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars in the 65 years since independence from Britain.

AP