Pakistan sends envoys worldwide

Pakistan is sending five envoys to the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia on a diplomatic offensive to relay Islamabad's position and policy on the crisis with India.

The emissaries will be carrying letters from President General Pervez Musharraf stating Pakistan does not want war and is ready to negotiate but India does not want to talk.

India and Pakistan have been edging toward war over the current stand-off in the disputed region of Kashmir, the flashpoint of contention for decades.

World leaders have been urging the two sides to begin dialogue amid fears that an all-out war between the nuclear rivals could erupt.

Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, the former High Commissioner in New Delhi who was recently expelled amid the rising tensions, will head to the United States on Monday.

Wasim Sajjad, former chairman of Pakistan's Senate, has left for Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Britain, while former Pakistani President Farooq Ahmad Khan Leghari is heading to Germany and Egypt.

Leghari will hold talks on Tuesday with the German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer, according to German officials in Berlin.

General Jehangir Karamat, the former head of the Pakistani army, has left for Denmark, Spain, Italy and France, while former Foreign Secretary Najamuddin Sheikh is travelling to Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore.