Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee has called for an end to bloodshed between Pakistan and India, saying violence won't resolve their pressing problems.
In the message read out to a gathering of parliamentarians, peace activists and journalists from both countries on Sunday, Vajpayee said that "misconception and mistrust" must be lessened between the two nuclear-armed foes.
"Cooperation rather than confrontation is the answer to our common problems of development and poverty alleviation," Vajpayee said to a conference organised by South Asian Free Media Association, a non-governmental group made up of senior journalists from both countries.
"Violence and bloodshed cannot provide any enduring solutions."
A 40-member Indian delegation including lawmakers from the ruling Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party and opposition groups arrived in Pakistan on Saturday with a hope to keep up the momentum for peace between the two countries.
The organisers of the trip said the Indian delegation was expected to meet Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali in the next two days.
The nuclear-armed rivals were on the brink of war last year after New Delhi blamed Pakistan-based Islamic militants for an attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001.
The relations have improved of late with both sides restoring full diplomatic relations and easing restrictions on transport links.
However, resumption of official talks are seen as some way off, with India insisting that Pakistan first stop infiltration of Muslim guerrillas into the disputed Kashmir region.
Islamabad says it has done all it can to stop cross-border movement of Islamic guerrillas and has repeatedly asked for resumption of talks to resolve "the core issue of Kashmir".
"Peace in this region can only be achieved if the core issue is resolved to the satisfaction of the Kashmiri people," Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain, the head of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, told the conference.
Pakistan and India have fought two of their three wars over the Himalayan Kashmir region since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947.