Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has hit back at Pakistan's criticism of elections in Indian-administered Kashmir, accusing Islamabad of training and arming militant separatists.

In a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York, Mr Vajpayee said the Kashmiri separatists' campaign for independence was based on the murder of innocent civilians.

Kashmir: The violence continues

He said: "If the elections are a mere fraud, why are terrorists being trained and infiltrated into India at the command of the Inter-Services Intelligence Agency of Pakistan to kill election candidates and intimidate voters."

On Thursday, Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf told the General Assembly that elections in Indian-administered Kashmir, which begin on Monday, would "once again be rigged".

Accusations

Mr Vajpayee also accused Pakistan of threatening India with its nuclear weapons.

He said: "In our South Asian region, nuclear blackmail has emerged over the last few months as a new arrow in the quiver of state-sponsored terrorism."

If the elections are a mere fraud, why are terrorists being trained and infiltrated into India at the command of... Pakistan?

Atal Behari Vajpayee

He said India did not want a war, conventional or otherwise, but it was determined to put an end to acts of terrorism that had claimed thousands of innocent lives. P> General Musharraf had told the assembly elections in Kashmir would be a hindrance, not a help, in finding a solution in the disputed region.

Criticism

He aimed strong criticism at India, warning that while Pakistan would also not start a war, it would exercise its right to self-defence.

He called on India, with which Pakistan has fought three wars since independence in 1947, to hold talks and proposed that the two countries should agree to reduce their forces in Kashmir.

He also said they should observe a cease-fire along the border that divides the territory and halt what he called "state terrorism" against Kashmiris.

Referring to the continuing conflict in the disputed region of Kashmir, General Musharraf said: "When a people's right to self determination and freedom are brutally suppressed by foreign occupation they may be driven to put up resistance by all means."