ALMATY, June 5 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee Wednesday, June 5, made a surprise offer of joint patrols with Pakistan along their disputed border in Kashmir, signaling a possible easing of tension between the war-ready rivals.

But the Indian premier ruled out any immediate prospects of peace talks with Islamabad and accused it of not keeping its word on halting cross-border militancy, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

“If Pakistan decides that it will not support infiltration, then both countries can set up a joint patrolling mechanism. This proposal can be considered,” he told a press conference in Almaty, the scene of a regional conference.

“For verification, India and Pakistan can have an agreement of joint patrolling,” he added.

Vajpayee was in Kazakhstan, taking part in a regional conference also attended by Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf, but, despite intense international pressure, the two men did not meet face-to-face.

Musharraf said he was open to talks, but India has firmly ruled them out until it sees an end to what it calls cross-border terrorism.

India claims that Pakistan arms and funds independence fighters in Indian-ruled Kashmir and has demanded that this stop before any peace talks can begin.

“With terrorism continuing, the atmosphere is not conducive for talks,” said Vajpayee.

He alleged that some 3,000 rebels were waiting in camps in the Pakistan zone of Kashmir ready to infiltrate into India.

“We have said [Pakistan] must end cross-border terrorism, so that this will create a conducive atmosphere for talks.

“I have emphasized that Pakistan’s word that terrorist activities have ended is not good enough for us. These statements have to be verified and the impact of this has to be seen on the ground.”

The Indian prime minister left Almaty later Wednesday, with his journey back to New Delhi due to take around seven hours as the plane has to avoid flying over Pakistan.

Both countries have closed their airspaces to each other since December, shortly after an attack on parliament in New Delhi which India blamed - without evidence to date -- on Pakistan.

A million troops have been lined up along their border since then in a tense military stand-off. A deadly attack last month in Kashmir re-ignited hostilities.

“De-escalation on the border will be the last question,” Vajpayee said before leaving.

“Why was it necessary to put troops on the border - to end infiltration ... Once infiltration stops, the camps across the border are closed and it is verified on the ground, then we will think of taking new steps which will take us towards de-escalation,” he said.

Analysts said this week that on the ground, verification of a substantial decrease of infiltrations in Indian-ruled Kashmir is the key to defusing the current military stand-off, AFP reported.

Pakistan wants international observers to be deployed along the Line of Control (LoC), the military line dividing Kashmir, but India is adamant monitoring is strictly a bilateral matter between India and Pakistan.

Joint patrols, if accepted by Pakistan, could enable both countries to save face and begin a de-escalation of their forces, analysts said.

Asked about his bilateral meetings with Russian President Vladmir Putin and Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Vajpayee said both leaders had expressed the desire that the stand-off between India and Pakistan was “resolved through peaceful talks.”

“But they also admitted that for this, cross-border terrorism must end,” he said.

Vajpayee said the people of India wanted a peaceful solution through diplomacy, but added “other options [were] also open” without elaborating on what these options were.