Mandla (MP): Hitting out at Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf over his recent threat of repeating Kargil, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee on June 17 said Islamabad was preparing for a fourth defeat in its proxy war against India.

"Musharraf has reminded us of Kargil but he should remember Pakistan was defeated thrice in wars and was now preparing for a fourth defeat," said Vajpayee in his first public meeting ever addressed by a Prime Minister in this tribal dominated district, about 100 kms from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh.

Vajpayee said Pakistan had changed its method from conventional war and was now resorting to killing of innocent men, women and children.

"What kind of freedom struggle is this", he asked in an apparent reference to Musharraf's earlier description of militancy in Kashmir Valley.

He said India was committed to pursuing the policy of friendship with Pakistan till "Islamabad realises its importance but we will not pay the price of friendship with our land."

The Prime Minister said India was not offering friendship to Pakistan due to any weakness on its part. "We don't want money to be spent on weapons that is why we are talking of peace," he said, adding the money saved could be utilised to remove poverty, unemployment and starvation.

PTI