Islamabad: In yet another contentious statement, Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said he would "not be a party" to the present Indo-Pak peace process if there was no forward movement, especially on Kashmir, by July-August this year.

"If peace process does not move forward, then I will not be a party to it," he said in an interactive meeting with a select group of journalists, officials and intellectuals last night (March 30, 2004).

"If we do not move forward, I am not in the process. They know that. I told everyone absolutely unambiguously that if you think that I am here to sell Kashmir, you are talking to the wrong man," Musharraf said.

Foreign Secretaries and Foreign Ministers are slated to meet in July-August to hold talks on all bilateral issues including Jammu and Kashmir. In a recent statement, which was contested by India, the General had said that Kashmir was the central issue.

He said that the Foreign Ministers at their meeting needed to break the deadlock, otherwise the confidence-building measures (CBMs) initiated in the current detente would come to an end.

Replying to a question about India's response to Pakistan's peace overtures and its sincerity towards addressing the Kashmir issue, he said he has made it clear to the Indian leadership and the international community that for the peace process to be successful, the two countries must address the issue.

Sections of the media here quoted Musharraf as saying that Pakistan would reconsider its position if the expected results were not delivered by July-August.

He said CBMs and dialogue process would have to move ahead in tandem to resolve Kashmir and six other issues including differences over Siachen.

Pakistan, he said, believes in meaningful and result-oriented talks on Kashmir issue and that addressing it is imperative for any realistic forward movement in the relations between the two countries.

"I am confident that things will move forward when two countries go into the next round of talks," he said.

Asked whether anything went wrong after the joint statement issued by the two countries in January to make him apprehensive of the peace process, he said it should come into full gear after elections in India.

He rejected the Indian charge of cross-border terrorism and reiterated that militancy in Kashmir was a freedom struggle and Pakistan would not hesitate to provide moral, political and diplomatic support to the Kashmiris.

He also termed Lok Sabha polls in Kashmir as "repeat of drama" of polls held in the State last year.

Referring to the split in the Hurriyat Conference he said he said it was in the interest of the Kashmiris to speak in a united voice.

Musharraf said both India and Pakistan need to show flexibility to find a durable solution to the Kashmir issue, adding the CBMs have yielded some positive results.