Pakistani military ruler General Pervez Musharraf Wednesday demanded a response from Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to Islamabad's latest offer of dialogue over Kashmir.
Otherwise the general warned he would hold India responsible for ruining another peace bid in the divided Himalayan state.
"I expect the Indian Prime Minister to decide on this offer, otherwise, obviously, I will presume that the ball is entirely in their court," Musharraf was quoted as saying by the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
"Any progress on the issue of a peaceful dialogue on Kashmir, if it fails again, the window of opportunity which again was there, I will consider that it was frustrated by the Indian side."
Musharraf said he was "a little disappointed" over comments from an Indian foreign ministry official Tuesday ruling out tripartite talks between India, the Kashmiri leadership and Pakistan.
"I am still not closing the door entirely, maybe a more senior position's response should come because this is a very serious issue to which I have responded," he said.
Indian foreign ministry official Raminder Singh Jassal on Tuesday welcomed Pakistan's offer of military de-escalation on the disputed Kashmir border but said peace talks with Islamabad were impossible for the time being.
"The modalities of these talks will be decided by the government of India. It is abundantly clear that there is no room for what are termed as tripartite talks," Jassal said.
"We expect Pakistan to address our concerns and also those of the international community about cross-border terrorism, infiltration into India, and aiding and abetment of violence."
Pakistani foreign office spokesman Riaz Mohammad Khan told AFP it was too early to comment on Jassal's remarks, which would appear to ruin any chance that the latest peace initiatives in Kashmir will bear fruit.
"We have to see what he really said and receive something from our embassy before we can make a comment," he said.
Pakistan said Saturday it would show "maximum restraint" along the tense unofficial border in Kashmir and invite the leading Kashmiri separatist alliance to facilitate three-way talks through separate discussions in Islamabad and New Delhi.
It was Pakistan's long-awaited response to India's unilateral cease-fire to militant Muslim separatist groups during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which started last week but has been marred by violence.
Most militant groups fighting against Indian rule in Kashmir have rejected New Delhi's cease-fire and said their rebellion would not end until India agrees to meaningful tripartite talks.
A unilateral cease-fire offer in July from the Hizbul Mujahideen, Kashmir's most powerful armed separatist group, collapsed after two weeks when India refused its demand for three-way dialogue.
India said it was ready to talk to the Kashmiri representatives but not Pakistan, which it blames for fostering "terrorism" on its side of the divided Himalayan state.
The Muslim insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir, which Pakistan calls a legitimate freedom struggle, has claimed some 34,000 lives since it erupted in 1989.
Kashmir, divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both, has sparked two wars and a major border conflict between the South Asian rivals -- ISLAMABAD (AFP)
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