Pakistan would pull back its troops from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir if India did the same in Jammu and Kashmir, President Pervez Musharraf has said.

Replying to questions from listeners on a BBC radio programme, which was broadcast on Monday, Musharraf said, "India has seven lakh soldiers in Kashmir, whereas Pakistan has only fifty thousand. If Indian government is ready to remove their forces, we will remove ours tomorrow."

Musharraf also said he would nominate Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for his country's highest civilian honour, the Nishan-e-Pakistan, if the two neighbours moved forward towards solving the Kashmir dispute.

Musharraf said he was optimistic about next month's South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Summit in Islamabad.

"Prime Minister Vajpayee will participate and will meet with all the leaders. I am also hopeful that maybe talks [will] take pace, and whatever talks take place, they would be effective, useful and point to a good future," Musharraf said.

Asked whether he would meet Vajpayee, he replied, "Yes, if he wants to meet me, I will meet him.

"I am saying he should not get an impression, that since I have been saying this time and again, I am desperate to meet him. Let me tell you, I am living here and sitting comfortably... there is no problem. I will meet him only if he wants."

He dismissed Deputy Prime Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani's charge that cross-border terrorism had not stopped and said, "Even if two birds fly [across the border], they will say infiltration is taking place."

He said India had often alleged that infiltration was taking place under the cover of firing by Pakistani forces.

"Now there is no firing on the LoC. So how is the infiltration taking place?"