Islamabad: Pakistan has described as "a good statement" Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's remarks against war, saying it will help lowering tension between the two countries.

"It is a good statement. It will help in lowering tension. We welcome Prime Minister Vajpayee's statement and we are prepared to engage in a comprehensive dialogue with India on Kashmir and on other outstanding issues," Pakistan's Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri told media in Karachi on February 20 before leaving for Kuala Lumpur to attend the NAM (Non-Aligned Movement) summit.

Vajpayee on February 19 told Lok Sabha that "there should not be any war, anywhere in the world, be it between the US and Iraq or between India and Pakistan."

While reiterating Pakistan's desire for resolving "all its disputes with India peacefully," Kasuri however said, "there cannot be peace without Kashmir".

Kasuri also accused India of imposing an arms race on Pakistan and said that Islamabad wanted to remove the existing imbalance in conventional military strength with India.

He said the imbalance needs to be removed as it encouraged New Delhi to adopt a "threatening posture" against Pakistan.

"Pakistan was not in an arms race with India. It is India, which has imposed an arms race. We want most friendly relations with India but we don't accept their hegemony, we don't want local hegemons," he said.

PTI