Musharraf ready to meet Vajpayee in New York

Pakistan is ready for a summit meeting with India on the sidelines of next month's UN General Assembly, foreign office spokes-man Aziz Ahmad Khan said yesterday.

President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee could meet in New York if the Indian side desired, but so far Pakistan had not received any request from them, he said.

"We are ready to meet (with India) at any level and at any time and place," the spokesman told a press briefing.

Khan said tension between India and Pakistan had "slightly" reduced as a result of the U.S.-led efforts to calm the situation.

The reality on the ground, however, was that India was maintaining massive deployment of its forces on the borders in an "aggressive posture", he said.

The situation was not explosive but it would remain potentially dangerous until the military buildup was reversed, he said.

For a "genuine" lowering of tension it was essential that the forces were pulled back and a dialogue got under way on resolving all issues, including the Kashmir dispute, the spokesman said.