Talks only after hostile activities end — India

Musharraf had stated that he was ready for talks with India to resolve the Kashmir issue, claiming there was no other dispute between the two countries. Any talks between the two sides must focus on the resolution of this "core issue", he stressed.

"We are not surprised by these kind of comments. We have always been the initiators of the dialogue. We have maintained the position that Pakistan has tocreate the right atmosphere which includes cessation of cross-border terrorism and cessation of hostile propaganda against India," he said.

"We don’t envisage role for any third party," the spokesman said when asked about US President Bill Clinton’s remarks that Washington is prepared to work to restart Indo-Pak dialogue on all issues which broke down in the wake of the Kargil conflict.

Clinton while accepting the letter of credence from the newly-appointed Pakistani ambassador Maleeha Lodhi in Washington said, “However, to make progress in this area, the cycle of mistrust and violence must be broken. I am personally committed to do what I can towards this objective."

New Delhi has made it clear that there was no question of agreeing to third party mediation, involvement or outside intervention on the J and K issue which, it has stressed, should be resolved only by India and Pakistan.

The spokesman said India’s position in this regard has been reiterated several times by Prime Minister A B Vajpayeeand External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh.

Asked about Clinton’s remarks that he has not ruled out a visit to Pakistan during his next month’s trip to India and Bangladesh, the spokesman said it would not be appropriate for him to comment on US President’s visit to a third country.

Officials here were sceptical over Musharraf’s repeated utterances favouring dialogue with India which they felt was part of Islamabad’s sustained attempts to internationalise the Kashmir issue.

Soon after leading the military coup last October, Musharraf had made statements against India that were provocative in nature.

But New Delhi had chosen not to match his strident note and instead drew Islamabad’s attention to India’s abiding desire to build a relationship of peace and friendship with Pakistan based on principles, officials said.

India, the officials contended, has always taken the initiative towards improving relations with Pakistan, as it did in 1998 by putting in place the composite dialogue process to buildconfidence and trust, establish a stable structure of cooperation and address all outstanding issues.

Prime Minister Vajpayee had sought to reinforce this approach through his historic visit to Lahore in February last year. They noted that Pakistan’s armed intrusion and aggression in Kargil was, besides a violation of the line of control, it was more a “betrayal of trust”. Islamabad, they stressed, therefore must facilitate a restoration of trust through actions., abandon its state-sponsored cross-border terrorism against India in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere, and it must also cease hostile anti-India propaganda.

Such actions on the ground would help create a conducive atmosphere for the two sides to have meaningful talks, the officials said.