SRINAGAR, Aug 12: Indian and Pakistani artistes sang and danced together on Thursday in disputed Kashmir in a rare show of unity at a theatre tightly guarded by troops.

Organizers said it was the first time artistes from Pakistan and India had publicly performed together in Kashmir, a Himalayan territory split between the two countries in 1947.

Internationally acclaimed Indian choreographer Mallika Sarabhai opened the concert in the summer capital Srinagar by dancing to the tunes of Pakistani composer Samia Malik.

"I feel honoured and thrilled to be here," Ms Malik, who is based in London, told reporters. Ms Sarabhai said the concert, entitled 'Colour of the Heart', was aimed at highlighting human rights and women's issues.

"It is time to rise against the abuse of human rights and injustice against women," she said. Muslim hardliners oppose public performances by women. Police and paramilitary forces were deployed in strength to protect the concert, whose guests included Indian occupied Kashmir's leader, Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.

"We have provided a foolproof security for the show," a police officer told AFP at the start of the show. The performance will travel to 10 other Indian cities, including Kashmir's winter capital Jammu and also the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.

India and Pakistan have hailed people-to-people contact as a key force in easing decades of hostility as part of a peace process launched in April 2003.