ISLAMABAD, February 5 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Marking the annual Kashmiri solidarity day, Pakistan has adopted once again a tough tone over the disputed mountainous area of Kashmir.

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf vowed Pakistan's "steadfast and unflinching" support to the struggle against Indian rule in Kashmir, which pulled the two neighbouring nuclear countries to the brink of war and in an indication that the “honeymoon” between India and Pakistan is over, Agence-France Presse reported Wednesday, February 5.

Musharraf accused India of state-sponsored terrorism against Kashmiris, called on New Delhi to make peace with Pakistan and accused Indian troops of continuous human rights abuses.

"We appeal to the conscience of the world to rise in defence of the human rights of the Kashmiri people, which are being continuously violated by Indian occupation forces," said the written message from Musharraf.

“The world must not allow India to continue with its policy of state terrorism in order to prolong its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir.

"We call upon India to stop its repression in Kashmir and respond positively to our peace initiatives,” he added.

Referendum

Musharraf also called for international backing for a referendum among Kashmiris on whether they want to be ruled by India or Pakistan, as mandated by United Nations Security Council resolutions dating back to 1948.

"The international community must not let India renege from its legal moral obligations to let the Kashmiri people decide their future," AFP quoted him as saying.

In the meantime, Pakistani Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali denied that Kashmiri rebels had infiltrated into the Indian-administered part of Kashmir, calling on the Kashmiri people to hold “unconditional” talks with the Indian government to settle the Kashmir crisis, Al-Jazeera satellite channel reported Wednesday.

The mountainous region of Kashmir, officially known as Jammu and Kashmir, has been a flashpoint between India and Pakistan for more than 50 years.

Since 1989 the controversy over Kashmir has taken a violent turn in the valley; the Kashmiri people themselves have taken up arms against the Indian occupation. India is now deploying more than 700,000 troops in the valley to crack down hard on Kashmiris, APF.

India regularly accuses Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism by backing the “rebels”, allowing them to train in camps in Pakistani territory and cross the Line of Control (LoC) ceasefire line dividing the Pakistani- and Indian-controlled zones.

India refuses to accept Pakistan's calls for dialogue until flows of rebels over the LoC stops permanently.