ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and Indian experts have opened round-table talks in Islamabad over water disputes between the two nuclear-armed neighbors.

Pakistan's minister for water and hydroelectric power, Khawaja Asif, on Monday welcomed the Indian delegation, saying he hopes the two days of meetings will move the issue forward in anticipation of continued talks on April 12 in Washington.

Both sides signed the Indus Water Treaty in 1960, brokered by the World Bank, to share the vast water resources from the Indus River system, which supplies water to both countries. The treaty requires annual meetings but none have been held since 2015 because of tense relations.

The World Bank backed out of mediating the talks, forcing Pakistan and India to resume direct negotiations. Tensions are high between the two over disputed Kashmir region.