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KATHMANDU, Wednesday (Reuters,AFP) Pakistan said on Wednesday it was not possible to bring to a complete stop the infiltration of Muslim militants into Indian Kashmir, a key condition set by India to end a military standoff between the nuclear neighbours. "We have always said there is no way to absolutely seal the border. Individuals, probably of divided families, even some rogue elements, some renegades might be crossing the LoC," Pakistan junior foreign minister Inam-ul-Haq told reporters in Kathmandu on the margins of a South Asian conference. But Haq said movement of rebels across the LoC, the line of control dividing Kashmir, was not being encouraged by the Pakistani government, in line with its pledge to stop incursions.

He said while it was not possible for Pakistan to stop individuals from trekking across the Himalayan mountains into Indian Kashmir, New Delhi had a large military presence on the frontier and could check the infiltration.

Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf, under intense global pressure to act, had said there was no rebel movement across the ceasefire line dividing Kashmir. But India maintains rebel incursions continued after a brief lull.

Haq and Indian foreign minister Yashwant Sinha are attending a foreign ministers' meeting of the seven-member South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which began earlier on Wednesday.

Sinha has said there were no plans for a bilateral meeting with Haq on the sidelines of the meeting, overshadowed by India-Pakistan tensions.

However, the two shook hands briefly and smiled for news cameras as they left the inaugural session of the conference.

Haq said the Indian demand for the extradition of 20 men it says are terrorists and criminals and sheltering in Pakistan, another key condition to end the faceoff, was now dormant.

"I am sure that most of the people listed are not in Pakistan. Secondly, we do not have sufficient information," he said.

"Thirdly, there is no extradition treaty between India and Pakistan. Fourthly, no evidence for indictment has been provided to Pakistan."

Haq reiterated Islamabad's call for dialogue to end the tension and resolve the Kashmir dispute.

"Dialogue can be held between two countries. But I suspect India is not ready for it," Haq said.

"We believe in sovereign equality and all dialogue discussions should be held without pre-conditions," he said, referring to India's stance that talks could be held only after Pakistan lives up to its pledge to act against militants.

Earlier Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said Islamic militants were continuing to cross into India's Jammu and Kashmir state from Pakistan, despite a pledge by Islamabad to halt the flow of guerrillas to join the revolt there.

"This is the reality, infiltration has continued," he said.

Pakistan says rebel incursions into Kashmir have largely stopped and accuses New Delhi of dragging its feet on ending tensions and resuming dialogue.

New Delhi says troops will not be pulled back until the infiltration has stopped and guerrilla training camps which New Delhi says exist in Pakistan are dismantled.

Meanwhile India said that Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf's admission that Islamic militants may still be crossing into Indian Kashmir confirmed "our worst fears".

"It is tantamount to saying that infiltration is still going on with the knowledge and cognisance of the Pakistani authorities," Indian foreign ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao told AFP.

Rao was reacting to an AFP interview with Musharraf in which the Pakistani leader said there was still a possibility small groups of militants were crossing over into Indian-administered Kashmir.

"The possibility is there ... it's like the Afghan border, only much worse," General Musharraf told AFP at his official residence outside Islamabad late Monday.

"A possibility of individual small groups going across is there, because when 700,000 troops of Indians can't block the borders, how can they expect us to block the borders?"

But Musharraf stressed that Pakistan had lived up to its pledge to crack down on infiltration across the border.

"There's no massive activity, no government-sponsored activity," he said. "The possibility (of infiltration) cannot be ruled out because this is a porous border, it's a very very difficult terrain."

But in a sharp reaction, Rao said Musharraf's comments confirmed India's "worst fears".

"They had made pledges and promises with no intention of keeping them. We have always been sceptical but we were prepared to wait and see if he would deliver.

"But this seems to confirm our worst fears. We see no hope for resumption of dialogue."

Earlier Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes said the government had definite reports that Pakistan intends to step up violence in Indian Kashmir to disrupt upcoming assembly elections in the troubled Himalayan state.

Fernandes, in an interview to be telecast night on state television Doordarshan, added that the country's armed forces would act decisively to "overpower" such attempts, the Press Trust of India news agency said.

He said the government was in possession of "innumerable intercepts" between alleged militant headquarters located in Pakistan and groups active in Kashmir, giving instructions to militants on ways to disrupt elections, how to get rid of candidates and eliminate campaigners.

He said to counter this, the government may consider keeping the forward deployment of troops on the borders for a longer period.

"Elections will be free and fair," Fernandes said. "The government is determined to ensure that these polls are violence free."

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