New Delhi: India on June 14 voiced "distress" over President Pervez Musharraf's comments on Kargil and said it implied that "military adventurism" was a legitimate instrument for Islamabad's designs on Jammu and Kashmir, which cannot take Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee's peace initiative forward.

Making it clear that Pakistani leadership would be judged by the steps it took to end cross-border infiltration and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure there, a Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesman wondered how in the face of such a "signal of non-peaceful intent" Vajpayee's peace initiative could go forward.

India's sharp reaction came in response to Musharraf's interview to NDTV, which the spokesman said was "deeply disappointing", due to much depends on how we proceed on the peace track and how things develop. "Nobody can say 'yes, we will have another Kargil', but certainly we need to resolve disputes."

The MEA spokesman said the Prime Minister launched a major peace initiative, which has been widely welcomed all over the world and by Pakistan itself.

"How can a peace initiative go forward in the face of such a signal of non-peaceful intent?" he asked.

The spokesman said the important first steps that have been taken needed to be carefully nurtured and built upon through further action in ending infiltration and terrorism, so that the two countries could progressively move towards a dialogue.

"It requires restraint and maturity in addressing sensitive issues in India-Pakistan relations," he said.

The spokesman also termed as "unfortunate" that Musharraf has totally denied the significance and impact of the universally acknowledged success of the elections in Jammu and Kashmir. "Facts cannot be wished away by denials," he said.

Observing that Musharraf has himself referred to the lack of trust between the two countries, he said it was clear that the first step should be expanding economic and cultural co-operation, and people-to- people contact, so as to generate an atmosphere of understanding, trust and confidence.

"His dismissal of the importance of these steps only shows the vicious circle in which India-Pakistan relations have got trapped," the spokesman said.

India, the spokesman said, would continue with its recent efforts, which have also found a tremendous resonance amongst the people and civil society in Pakistan.

"We will judge the Pakistani leadership by the steps that they take to end cross-border infiltration and to dismantle the infrastructure of support to terrorism in that country," he added.

Reacting to Musharraf's interview, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) general secretary Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "I think only after taking Kashmir off their (Pakistan's) mind, they will be able to talk and move towards any success."

Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi said, "If talks are led by Musharraf, the person who calls the shots, there could be likelihood of success and less likelihood of his wriggling out."

Nilotpal Basu of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM) said, "We have to engage with Pakistan. We cannot wish away the geography and history that we have. I think we have to prepare the ground so that we can also set out the agenda and process of dialogue."

PTI