New York: Hitting back at Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf for accusing India of "violent suppression of the Kashmiri people", New Delhi on September 23 advised him to give up the "annual Kashmiri itch" before the UN General Assembly.

"It may be useful, before making this annual UN pilgrimage, if the Pakistani leadership were to do some fasting," Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal told reporters in New York, sharply rebuking Musharraf for his comments on Kashmir at a conference on terrorism on September 22.

Sibal said that Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has taken initiatives to improve Indo-Pak relations by taking some concrete steps irrespective of Pakistan's "lack of performance" with regard to terrorism.

He also criticized Musharraf for his remark that Pakistan has got "zero return" from the Indian side for his efforts to have peace.

"This is a flight in the face of actual facts. Under the Prime Minister's initiative in April, we have taken concrete steps. If General Musharraf feels there has been zero return so far, it is because there has been zero investment from his side," Sibal said.

PTI