Talking to foreign journalists based here in Delhi Monday evening, Singh noted that India has "emotional ties" with Bangladesh and underpinned the importance of the two countries working closely to work out a solution to all outstanding bilateral issues.

The Indian PM said he looked forward to attending the twice-postponed 13th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) to be held in Dhaka in November this year adding that India is committed to strengthening the Saarc to make it an effective instrument of regional cooperation.

Answering questions on a wide range of issues including domestic politics, economy and international relations, Singh said there was now an atmosphere for discussing the "basic problems" between India and Pakistan.

He said it would be "unrealistic" to fix a timeframe for resolving the Kashmir issue which has defied solution for the last 57 years.

Singh, however, asserted, "I will never accept anything that leads to further division of India on religious lines. I have no mandate to negotiate on redrawing our boundaries. Within these limitations, the two of us [India and Pakistan] must work together to create an environment to take the peace process forward."

Singh, who has been invited by Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf to visit that country, said he looked forward to visiting Pakistan but gave no indication regarding the time.

The Indian premier said "not enough has been done [by Pakistan] to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure" and that the first and foremost pre-condition which he conveyed to Musharraf was that "terrorist elements must be fully under control."

"If we have a major attack like the one on the Indian Parliament [in 2002] or Jammu and Kashmir state assembly, it could upset the whole process," Singh said.

He brushed aside suggestions that India was giving "confusing signals" in its policy towards Nepal following the dismissal of a democratically elected government in that country by King Gyanendra.

"Our considered view is that constitutional monarchy and multi-party democracy are the twin pillars of Nepal's polity to enable it to function effectively," he said.

According to Singh, he had told King Gyanendra that there should be a visible road map for restoration of democracy in the Himalayan kingdom. "Some steps have been taken in the right direction but some other steps remained a cause of concern," he added.