In order to supplement the ongoing confidence building measures, a two-day meeting of retired Indian and Pakistani diplomats and military officials began in Kathmandu on Friday.

The meet will debate a range of topics from the military dimension of the recent Indo-Pak stand-off, politics and diplomacy to repercussions on South Asia of the US-led war in Afghanistan.

Military analyst General Ashok K Mehta, former diplomat Satinder Lamba and former Pakistani foreign ministers Inam ul Haque and Sartaz Aziz presented their views at the conference on Friday.

According to one estimate presented during the conference, the Indo-Pak standoff in 2001-2002 cost $ 1.8 billion to India and $ 1.2 billion to Pakistan.

Addressing the gathering, Pakistani analyst Ayesha Siddiqa Agha said last year's standoff between the two neighbours had been 'worrisome' but said a war was not 'imminent' at any point.

However, Mehta told the meeting that the two sides were 'pretty close' to war and there had been six points when India could have gone to war.