LONDON, Sept 20: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged on Monday to engage constructively with Pakistan over disputed Kashmir as long as "terrorists" operating in the Himalayan region were brought to heel.

Mr Singh will meet Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for the first time on Friday in New York, on the sidelines of the 59th United Nations General Assembly session. The latest push to end decades of enmity between the two neighbours began in January when Gen Musharraf met Mr Singh's predecessor, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

"It is our sincere desire to carry forward that process, provided of course that the threat posed by terrorist elements can be kept under control," Mr Singh told a news conference after talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

"If 'terrorism' is not under control then it will be very difficult for our government to prepare Indian public opinion to move forward on the road to the dialogue. "But if terrorism is under control we are more than willing to discuss all outstanding issues between our two countries," said Mr Singh.

Mr Blair rejected a suggestion that London was soft on Pakistani insurgents operating in Kashmir because of the key role Musharraf has played in the West's "war on terror" and pursuit of Al Qaeda militants.

"We totally and completely condemn any terrorism associated with Kashmir as we do terrorism elsewhere in the world," he said. Mr Singh said he would press India's case for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, when in New York, and had secured Blair's backing.

"As each year passes, the case gets stronger," the British premier said. Mr Blair has already stated his intention to involve burgeoning powers such as India and China in Britain's presidency of the Group of Eight major industrial nations next year, notably over the threat of climate change.

TROOPS FOR IRAQ: Mr Singh ruled out sending Indian troops to Iraq to back up the US-led coalition. "At the present time, we are not in a position to commit Indian troops," Mr Singh said.

He added, however, that India had offered to retrain Iraqi police officers and those involved in humanitarian work, and to assist with "rehabilitation and reconstruction" efforts. -AFP