LONDON, Dec 6: President General Pervez Musharraf said on Monday that bilateralism had a last chance for finding a peaceful solution to the Kashmir issue. I am giving bilateralism a final chance.

Let it not fail," said the president at a breakfast meeting with editors of leading British dailies during which terrorism, Pakistan-India dialogue, Afghanistan, Middle East and Iraq came under discussion.

He said sincerity, flexibility and courage were required to solve the issues like Kashmir. He explained that the two sides had to step back from their stated positions. The most important quality was the courage to be shown by the leadership of the two countries to solve the issue, he said.

Gen Musharraf said when he talked of bilateralism to address this issue he, in fact, was showing flexibility. He, however, made it clear that Pakistan had not changed its stance on Kashmir and was ready to move forward only if India was ready to do so.

"I have not moved an inch. We are prepared to move if they move. We are not appeasing them, we are not on an appeasement course at all," he said in reply to a question. The president said he thought "India has moved back" and he was appreciative of it.

Answering a question on his first meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the margins of the UN General Assembly in September, he said he found him (Mr Singh) to "be a sincere person."

Gen Musharraf denied there had been any deal between the government and the Pakistan People's Party. He said PPP chairperson Benazir Bhutto had gone abroad on her own volition and no one was stopping her to return. But there were cases against her, he added.

In reply to a question about the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal's protest on the uniform issue, he said a vast majority of people supported him and they were not going to come to the streets. Referring to the MMA's public meeting at Karachi, he said only 10,000 people turned out in a city of 14 million and that too were non-Karachiites.

Answering a question about his uniform, the president said he still had one-and-a-half month to go. However, he pointed out, under the constitution he could retain the two offices till 2007.

About Iraq, he said what was happening there was impacting the Muslim world. He said terrorism had to be rooted out from Iraq, so casualties in the military action had to be accepted. But, he stressed the need to speed up the process of building Iraqi security forces so that they could gradually replace foreign forces which, he added, would also help in their exit strategy.

President Musharraf said if the Palestinian issue was resolved it would take the rug off under the feet of terrorists and it would also have positive impact on the Muslim world.

Answering a question, he said he had found resolve in US President George W. Bush to settle the Palestinian issue and added that the United States leader needed to be given some time as he had been just re-elected.

The only thing was that justice should be done with the Palestinians, he said. "President Bush can create history if he resolves the Palestinian issue." He said the question of recognizing Israel was a sensitive issue and Pakistan could think about it when "creation of Palestine takes place."

In reply to a question about nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, he said Pakistan had shared with the international community all the information obtained from Dr Khan.

"We are not hiding and we are capable of interrogating," he said in reply to the question whether the International Atomic Energy Agency would be allowed to interrogate the scientist.

The president said he was not aware of the whereabouts of Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. Meanwhile, in an interview to the Times newspaper, Gen Musharraf said he said he was 'very hopeful' that India and Pakistan were now able to move forward on the Kashmir dispute.

He informed the paper about Pakistan's efforts aimed at bringing about a social transformation so that a small number of extremists cannot hold the country to ransom.

FRANCE: President Musharraf will pay an official two-day visit to France from Dec 7 to strengthen bilateral relations. According to the foreign office spokesman in Islamabad, during his stay in France the president would exchange views with President Jacques Chirac on bilateral relations. -APP