"Our stance on Kashmir is very clear, we want to resolve the dispute peacefully. We are not desperate for talks with New Delhi. They (India) should come forward to start the dialogue process," the Daily Times quoted the president as saying.

On the issue of his simultaneously holding two posts, Musharraf said he should be allowed to decide the appropriate timing for leaving the office of the Chief of Army Staff, adding that his wearing the uniform was no longer an issue over which Pakistan's politicians should get excited or aggravated about.

Talking to media persons at Pindi Bhattian after inaugurating the Pindi Bhattian-Faisalabad Motorway, Musharraf said that while appreciated the objections to his holding the offices of President and Chief of the Army Staff simultaneously, he would not hold on to them "any longer than required."

When asked about Pakistan's status vis-a-vis receiving defence equipment from the United States, he said he was hopeful about Washington doing the needful to ensure that a strategic balance was maintained in South Asia.

"We have briefed the US leaders about Pakistan's defence needs," the Daily Times quoted the president as saying.

AFP adds: A civilian was killed and property damaged in an intense exchange of artillery by Indian and Pakistani troops along their de facto border over Himalayan Kashmir, police said Friday.

The civilian died overnight when mortar rounds and artillery shells fired by Pakistani troops from across the Line of Control (LoC) -- the ceasefire line that splits Kashmir between hostile neighbours India and Pakistan -- hit villages in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said.