Kashmir 'not core issue'

India has no set proposals on Kashmir

India says it is willing to discuss Kashmir with Pakistan - but insists the dispute is not the "core" issue at the forthcoming summit between their leaders.

We are very clear that it is a composite dialogue of which Jammu and Kashmir is one part

Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh

Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said that Delhi did not have any set proposals on Kashmir to present to Islamabad.

Pakistan has held the view that Kashmir was the main problem between the two neighbours and must be the focus at talks between President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

It wants the issue to be addressed before any others are taken up for discussion - a position that India rejects.

"So far as India is concerned, we are very clear that it is a composite dialogue of which Jammu and Kashmir is one part," Mr Singh said at a news conference in Delhi.

General Musharraf: Row over invitation to separatists

But the minister said he was optimistic about the outcome of the historic summit meeting.

"The priorities of one or the other will not stand in the way," he added.

Mr Singh also said India wanted Pakistan to release prisoners of war dating back to 1971, when the two countries fought during Bangladesh's independence.

On Wednesday Pakistan said it held no prisoners from that war. India says it believes that more than 50 Indian POWs are still held in Pakistan.

Row

General Musharraf arrives in Delhi on Saturday for his first face-to-face talks with the Indian leader.

The dispute over Kashmir is expected to be a key element in their discussions despite India's public stand.

A row over a meeting between Kashmiri separatist leaders and the Pakistani leader has cast its shadow over the summit.

India is angry over the invitation extended to the separatists to meet General Musharraf at a reception hosted by the Pakistani mission in Delhi.

Members of the ruling coalition that governs India have said they will boycott the reception, which is to be held on Saturday.

The Indian Government has ruled out any place in the summit talks for the separatists.

But the separatists believe that any discussion on Kashmir would be meaningless without their participation.