This was communicated to New Delhi through diplomatic channels earlier this week along with a call for early convening of the committee's inaugural meeting.

It is likely to be discussed at the home secretary-level talks scheduled in New Delhi next week, Dawn newspaper said Sunday.

Quoting unnamed diplomatic sources, it said that the proposal underlines the need for drawing up the committee's terms of reference. It also suggests procedures for the committee to address the plight of prisoners by expediting consular access and determining national status.

During the foreign ministers meeting held in Islamabad in January, Pakistan and India had agreed to establish a committee on prisoners. It comprised four retired judges of the superior judiciary of each side, who would visit jails in the two countries.

The committee, formed at Pakistan's initiative, is meant to propose steps to the two governments to ensure humane treatment and expedite release as well as repatriate prisoners on both sides.

Despite repeated claims by Pakistan and India of attaching high priority to the issue of civilian prisoners and treating it on humanitarian grounds, they have failed to convene a meeting of the committee on prisoners, the newspaper said.