The United Jihad Council - an umbrella organisation of 14 militant groups - says it rejects the Pakistan government's appeal to them to pull back from the Line of Control that divides the disputed region.

Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had agreed in talks with US President Bill Clinton to try to persuade the militants to back down and bring an end to the two-month conflict.

Mike Wooldridge in Delhi: "Diplomacy will be given a chance"

In the meantime, India has said it will maintain its military operations against what it says are Pakistan-backed infiltrators.

"Our operations will continue until the last of the intruders has been driven back," Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee told a gathering of chief ministers of Indian states.

But he also said he was willing to give diplomacy a chance.

Militant rejection

Mr Sharif, who stopped over in London on his way back from the United States, is heading home to what is being described as hostile opposition to the deal.

There have already been demonstrations in several cities, and Mr Sharif faces a tough battle selling his statement to a hostile opposition and to militant groups.

Sayed Salahuddin, head of the United Jihad Council said their would be no compromise in their position.

"We will not vacate the positions in the Kargil-Drass sector," he said after a meeting of the council in Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan administered Kashmir.

(Click here to see a map of the area)

The BBC's Daniel Lak reports from Delhi

He said he respected the Pakistan prime minister but added: "It does not mean that Nawaz Sharif should make a commitment...that is tantamount to stabbing the movement in its back."

Mr Sharif promised that concrete steps would be taken to restore the Line of Control that divides the disputed region, and over which fighting has intensified in the past two months.

Zaffar Abbas: "Militants say they will not withdarw, no matter where the appeal comes from"

But the BBC's Zaffar Abbas in Muzaffarabad, says supporters of the militant infiltrators, who have taken positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control, are furious at the prospect of calls for them to withdraw.

Pakistan's largest Islamic party, the right-wing Jamaat-e-Islami, also opposes the deal and staged a "black day" against the Washington statement, with protest rallies in major cities.

Military officials in Kashmir said there was no sign of the infiltrators pulling back, as Indian forces continued with air and artillery raids in the Batalik area.

General Krishan Pal, the Indian commander in the battle zone, told reporters: "The indications are that they are counterattacking on several positions."

UK backs effort

Earlier, the UK backed Pakistan's joint statement with the United States aimed at easing tensions.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and Mr Sharif held an unscheduled 30-minute meeting during the Pakistan premier's London visit.

Sartaj Aziz defends Pakistan's Washington initiative on the BBC's Hardtalk

A Downing Street spokesman said Mr Blair said the Washington statement "represented real progress towards reducing tension with India".

"The PM and Mr Sharif agreed on the importance of swiftly implementing the actions proposed in the statement," the spokesman said.