India on Saturday voiced 'distress' over President Pervez Musharraf's comments on Kargil and said it implied that 'military adventurism' was a legitimate instrument for Islamabad's designs on Jammu and Kashmir

A Ministry of External Affairs spokesman said such a 'signal of non-peaceful intent' cannot take Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's peace initiative forward.

He added the Pakistani leadership will be judged by the steps it takes to end cross-border infiltration and dismantle the terrorist infrastructure there.

India's sharp reaction came in response to Musharraf's interview to NDTV.

Refusing to accept that the Kargil war had been against Pakistan's self-interest and was a mistake, Musharraf said, "Kargil was a decision taken by the Mujahideen, and we got involved because of the action taken by the Indian troops."

Musharraf refused to commit himself to avoiding Kargil-like situations in the future and said, "To avoid Kargils, we need to resolve disputes and much depends on how we proceed on the peace track and how things develop."

The spokesman said the important first steps that have been taken needed to be carefully nurtured and built upon through further action in ending infiltration and terrorism so that the two countries could progressively move towards a dialogue.

"This required restraint and maturity in addressing sensitive issues in India-Pakistan relations," he said.

The spokesman also termed as 'unfortunate' that Musharraf has totally denied the significance and impact of the universally acknowledged success of the election in Jammu and Kashmir. "Facts cannot be wished away by denials," he said.

Observing that Musharraf has himself referred to the lack of trust between the two countries, he said it was clear that the first step should be expanding economic and cultural cooperation, and people-to-people contact so as to generate an atmosphere of understanding, trust and confidence.

"His dismissal of the importance of these steps only shows the vicious circle in which India-Pakistan relations have got trapped," the spokesman said.

India, the spokesman said, would continue with its recent efforts, which have also found a tremendous resonance among the people and civil society in Pakistan.