NEW DELHI, March 2: US President George W. Bush told India and Pakistan on Thursday not to miss a rare opportunity to work for lasting peace in the subcontinent and said he would urge their courageous and visionary leaders to intensify their dialogue on Kashmir.

President Bush’s remarks came in a preliminary statement at a press conference he addressed with Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during which he also slammed Thursday’s Karachi blasts as an act of terrorism.

He said the attack would not deter his visit to Islamabad to meet President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Saturday.

“India and Pakistan have a historic opportunity to work toward lasting peace,” President Bush said in his opening remarks at the highly protected Hyderabad House.

“Prime Minister Singh and President Musharraf have shown themselves to be leaders of courage and vision. And I encourage them to continue making progress on all issues, including Kashmir.”

Sources close to the talks between President Bush and Dr Singh said they discussed ways to resolve India’s differences with Pakistan and that work in this regard was already continuing.

Asked if Thursday’s bomb attacks in Karachi would have any impact on his plans to visit Pakistan, President Bush said the terrorist attacks had strengthened his resolve to meet President Musharraf.

“I’ve been briefed on the bombings. We have lost at least one US citizen in a bombing, a foreign service officer, and I send our country’s deepest condolences to that person’s loved one and family. We also send the condolences to the people from Pakistan who lost their lives,” he said.

“Terrorists and killers are not going to prevent me from going to Pakistan. My trip to Pakistan is an important trip. It’s important to talk with President Musharraf about continuing our fight against terrorists. After all, he has had a direct stake in this fight — four times the terrorists have tried to kill him.”

Mr Bush said his discussions with Prime Minister Singh covered the need to continue working together to fight the scourge of terrorism.

“People — these terrorists will kill innocent life just like that. They have no conscience. You can’t negotiate with them, you can’t reason with them. They must be brought to justice. The bombing that took place prior to my trip is an indication that there are – that the war on terror goes on, and that free nations must come together to fight terrorism,” President Bush said.

There was some confusion whether he also urged India and Pakistan to jointly fight terrorism by sharing intelligence.

He said: “The way to defeat terrorism in the short run is to share intelligence and to take action. The way to defeat terrorism in the long run is to defeat the ideology of hate with an ideology of hope. And that’s democracy. The great thing about being here in India is it’s a perfect opportunity to remind the world that it is possible for people of different religions to live peacefully together. That’s precisely what this grand democracy has shown the world.

“And my resolve has never been stronger about protecting our own people by working with other nations, to answer the call to history and the call to history now is to stand strong in the face of these terrorist attacks. And we will.”