India and Pakistan Tuesday held talks to finalise modalities to permit private airlines to operate between the two countries as well as to expand air routes to each other's main cities.

A four-member Indian delegation, led by Ministry of Civil Aviation Director General Satendra Singh held talks at Rawalpindi with Pakistan's Ministry of Defence Additional Secretary Gen Muhammad Ashraf Chaudhary on the scope of improving and expanding the Air Services Agreement between both the countries, officials in Islamabad said.

Talks would formally end Wednesday after which the two sides were expected to make an announcement.

"The principal purpose of these talk is to enhance the existing bilateral arrangements between the two countries in aviation field," an official said.

In the previous rounds of talks, the two sides discussed permitting private airlines to fly in the established routes between the two countries as well as to open up new routes.

The two sides also discussed the expansion of the present Lahore-New Delhi and Karachi-Mumbai routes. In the past Pakistan International Airlines wanted permission to operate in Chennai-Hyderabad route from one of the centres in Pakistan.