``The purpose of the meeting is to find ways and means to de-escalate the situation,'' Aziz said. ``Also to make the need for strikes unnecessary or counter-productive, so I think it is better to start a dialogue without any preconditions.''

Meanwhile, Pakistan's Army Chief General Pervez Musharraf cut short his foreign visit and returned home today. Musharraf, who returned home last night from Hong Kong after completing the Chinese leg of his visit, is expected to visit forward positions along the LoC within a day to take stock of the situation there, media reports said today.

The Army Chief was scheduled to visit a couple of morecountries and return home only on June 3.

Army sources were also quoted as saying that Musharraf would visit forward positions within the next 48 hours to take stock of things. He will also meet the country's top political and military leadership of the country, the sources said.

`Nachiketa shifted'

Flt Lt Nachiketa, being held as a prisoner of war in Pakistan, has been brought to Islamabad, the Jang newspaper reported today. The paper also said he was being provided all facilities under the Geneva Convention as a prisoner of war.