London: Insisting that Kashmir cannot be "sidelined", Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said the "prime dispute" has to be resolved before any other topics can be discussed with India.

"Kashmir cannot be sidelined. It has to be the prime dispute to be resolved before any other topics can be discussed," Musharraf said in an interview published in 'The Times' on June 19.

Rejecting India's accusations of continuing incursions by terrorists from Pakistan across the line of control (LoC), he said, "Nothing is happening and there is not one terrorist camp in (Pakistan-occupied) Kashmir.

"But if they think I am going to stop even a bird flying across the line of control, I will not. I cannot guarantee nothing happens in Kashmir."

Musharraf, who is on a four-day visit to London, also said that the West must not allow India to develop a military superiority that would leave his country's nuclear arsenal as its only real deterrent.

A sharp rise in India's defence spending, coupled with restrictions on Pakistan buying military equipment abroad, threatened to create a "dangerous" imbalance in force levels between the two countries, the Pakistani general said.

In such circumstances, Pakistan would have no choice but to rely on its nuclear weapons, he suggested. "The other element of deterrence is your capability of striking and causing such damage to an enemy that is unbearable to him…" he said.

General Musharraf, who held talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair on June 17 will meet President George Bush at Camp David next week.

According to the daily, Musharraf will tell Bush, "There's an imbalance which is being created. Don't let it be created. If restrictions on Pakistan buying military equipment can not be lifted, a similar embargo should be placed on India."

Recalling that India and Pakistan came "very close" to a war over Kashmir last summer, Musharraf denied that there had been any chance of the confrontation "going nuclear", despite fears expressed in the West.

At the same time, he said, "When a war starts (you don't know) what direction it will take because there are a lot of intangibles which then come in the way.

"No sane person in normal conditions can ever even contemplate going into a non-conventional war, but basically the best guarantee is to avoid conflict."

He claimed US had done too little to rebuild Afghanistan after its war to end the Taleban's grip on Kabul.

"Things are not going as well as one would expect in Afghanistan. There is a vacuum in the countryside of Afghanistan (and) it must be filled (by international troops) or it will be filled by those hostile to peace."

According to the newspaper, he also criticised Washington for waging its battle against international terrorism on too many different "fronts".

He did not doubt that bin Laden was still alive, but said if he was moving around with a large protection force in Pakistan he would undoubtedly have been spotted.

PTI