MUNICH, Feb 8: India and Pakistan pledged on Sunday to work to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction but reiterated that neither would sign up to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

"There is no hope... that India will sign the NPT, but India is prepared to join the international community to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," said Brajesh Mishra, India's national security adviser.

Mr Mishra also said that India needed more nuclear power plants to produce extra electricity in the coming years, possibly as much as 200,000 megawatts in the long term.

Speaking with Mr Mishra at the close of a security conference here, Pakistani Foreign Minister Mian Khurshid M. Kasuri said that his country would do its utmost to limit the spread of nuclear weapons.

He said Pakistan would firmly follow its commitment to maintain global peace and harmony. He said Pakistan was engaged in a comprehensive war against terrorism and its actions were consistent "with our moral principles, national interest and our vision of Pakistan" as a modern, tolerant and democratic Islamic state. He added that because of "our actions over 500 Al Qaeda operatives and associates, including some key figures, had been arrested" during the last two years.

Mr Kasuri said: "We have deployed 70,000 troops along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to locate and interdict terrorist suspects." He added that Pakistan had developed an effective intelligence network based on human intelligence, technological capabilities and aerial surveillance backed by an effective 'Quick Reaction Force'.

He said: "We are also adopting measures to choke the sources of terrorist funding". Pakistan will continue to make a positive contribution to peace, stability and prosperity in the Middle East, he said.

The interlocking regions of the Middle East, South Asia and Central Asia will greatly benefit from a stable strategic and security environment, he added.

This will open new opportunities for economic and social development and enable Pakistan to play its geo-political role as a bridge of economic cooperation and mutual prosperity between the three regions, the foreign minister said. The whole region comprises moderate states that want to eradicate extremism and radicalism.

He said: "We firmly believe that a wide range of measures, involving both the Muslim governments and the western world, are needed to eliminate the breeding ground for terrorism and extremism."

Mr Kasuri added: "We will shortly commence a composite dialogue process between Pakistan and India to resolve all outstanding issues, especially the Jammu and Kashmir dispute."

After years of stalled negotiations and acrimony that characterized relations between Islamabad and New Delhi, the leaders of the two countries have embarked upon the path of peaceful settlement of disputes, he said.

Although the question of Palestine has been haunting the world for the last one century, its significance has increased manifold after 9/11 and the Middle East today holds the key to regional and global peace and harmony, he added.

The United States and Europe have a responsibility to use their full political weight to realise the vision of two states, Palestine and Israel, living side by side in peace within secure and recognized boundaries, Mr Kasuri said. -Agencies