DUSHANBE, June 2: President Gen Pervez Musharraf stressed on Sunday that onus was on India for holding dialogue with Pakistan to reduce tensions between the two countries.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Tajikistan President Emomali Rakhmonov after the two leaders had signed an accord to boost economic ties and trade relations, President Musharraf said that Pakistan had already expressed willingness to hold talks with India any time, anywhere and at any level.

He described the situation on borders as dangerous but hoped that sanity and sense would prevail on India. He expressed the hope that the two countries would avoid a war and instead settle all the issues, including the core issue of Kashmir, through peaceful means.

President Musharraf said Pakistan believed in the peaceful resolution of all disputes and added that despite Indian provocation it had exercised maximum restraint. The only way to resolve all outstanding issues was through negotiations and dialogue, he said, adding “we are ready to meet India any time, any place and at any level”.

President Rakhmonov called for the earliest easing of Indo-Pakistan tension through peaceful means. He said the war between the two countries would affect the entire region, including Central Asia.

He said the people of the region needed to lead a better life and war would increase their problems.

President Musharraf, who is leaving for the Kazakhstan city of Almaty on Monday to attend a regional summit of Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, appreciated Russian President Vladimir Putin for making efforts to bring together the Indian and Pakistan leaders in an attempt to defuse the situation.

Gen Musharraf said he was proceeding to Almaty with ‘open mind’ but it was entirely up to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee to respond to President Putin’s efforts to effect a dialogue between the two neighbours.

So far, the president said, the Indian leader had declined to meet him and added “...if the Indian premier is not interested, I would not like to persist with it”.

He pointed out that it was now up to the other countries to persuade the Indian leader whether he wanted to sit down and hold dialogue on a bilateral basis with Pakistan.

President Musharraf also spoke about the danger of a nuclear conflict and said the issue was too serious to be taken lightly and that he was fully aware of the fall out of such a conflict.

About the Pakistan-Tajikistan relations, he said these were bound through centuries old ties of history, religion, culture and traditions.

“President Rakhmonov and myself have just concluded in-depth and useful discussions covering the entire range of bilateral issues. We agreed to make joint efforts to expand and consolidate our cooperation in areas such as trade, tourism, transport and communication, education, industry and defence.”

The president said the two countries had agreed to convene the inaugural session of the joint economic commission in September. The two sides decided to exchange high-level visits for regular mutual consultations.

AFGHANISTAN: The situation in Afghanistan was also discussed by the two leaders before the signing of the accord. President Musharraf said they underlined the need for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan which would be in the interest of the entire region.