Tensions eased after Pakistani pledges

Pakistan took a step towards reducing tension with India last night when its president appeared to offer a series of concessions to India over the disputed territory of Kashmir.

At the end of talks with Tony Blair in Islamabad, the Pakistani president, General Pervez Musharraf, denounced terrorism in all its forms and promised to approve a series of measures to crack down on Islamist militants within days.

Gen Musharraf also agreed to look at a list of 20 suspected militants whom India wants to extradite.

Downing Street hopes the concessions will pave the way for talks between the two nuclear powers over the future of Kashmir. India has said it would be willing to talk but refuses to do so until Pakistan redoubles its efforts to crack down on the militants who launched a raid on the New Delhi parliament last month.

Gen Musharraf claimed that last night's announcement has heeded India's demands.

Using language clearly welcomed by Downing Street, he said: "Pakistan rejects terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and is fully cooperating with the international coalition against terrorism."

The Pakistani president, who has already taken the unprecedented step of ordering the arrests of several militants, also said that he would address the nation within days to spell out new measures.

He said: "We are taking steps to check militants. We have to check militants from our society. We are taking steps in Pakistan to bring some degree of [normality] to introduce a tolerant society. All that is to be addressed. A final decision will be made when I address the nation in a few days."

India will closely scrutinise Gen Musharraf's third "concession" - his pledge to assess the 20 suspects.

He said: "We have not fully analysed the details of the individuals in that list. I am in the process of analysing them. I look forward to looking at the evidence against each of them."

Political analysts in Pakistan, who feared that there would be little headway after yesterday's talks, believed that this final concession was a major softening of Pakistan's stance.

Until now, Pakistan has dismissed the Indian case against the suspects.

However, there was deep scepticism in New Delhi last night that the concessions amounted to anything new. Gen Musharraf has repeatedly condemned terrorism in the past, most recently at the weekend summit in Nepal. But he also infuriated India by making a distinction between terrorism and what he called "legitimate resistance and freedom struggles", a clear reference to Kashmir, where Pakistani-backed groups have wreaked havoc over the past decade.

India's prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, has demanded that Gen Musharraf put his pledge into action. New Delhi also says it has already handed over proof of the suspects' guilt to Islamabad.

The fact that Gen Musharraf says he looks forward to seeing the "evidence" suggests that the two sides are as far apart as ever.

Tony Blair, however, was delighted by Gen Musharraf's announcement. He said: "Gen Musharraf made it clear that Pakistan rejected terrorism in all its forms. I welcome that."

Mr Blair made it clear that he believed Gen Musharraf's announcement should form the basis for a resumption of talks between India and Pakistan.

Referring to his talks in New Delhi on Sunday night with his Indian counterpart, Mr Blair said: "Atal Bihari Vajpayee said he was willing to have dialogue on the basis of exclusively peaceful means. That dialogue must be real and meaningful."

Mr Blair also issued a passionate plea to follow his example over Northern Ireland. Mr Blair said: "We went through this in Northern Ireland. There were acts of terrorism. People felt very strongly about their cause of a united Ireland. But in the end we came to the view that the only way to solve it is to get into a dialogue and work out a political process. Killing people ripped communities apart and divides them."

Although sources at No 10 said it was too early to talk of a breakthrough, there was no mistaking the delight on the faces of Downing Street officials after last night's developments.

Mr Blair's five-day visit to the Indian subcontinent seemed to stall over the issue of Kashmir, fuelling criticism back in Britain that the prime minister was wasting time and money in warm climes.