India says no to Pak minister boarding Kashmir bus

"The government of India has processed the application and has declined permission, taking into account all aspects," Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna told a media briefing here.

The minister has been at the centre of a controversy since a leading separatist earlier this month praised his help during the early days of the Islamic militancy which exploded in the divided state in 1989.

Rashid, a Kashmiri, had said he wanted to cross on the next run of the bus service on June 30 to visit relatives in Indian Kashmir.

Senior separatist leader Yasin Malik, one of several moderate separatists who made a historic visit to Pakistan early in June, stunned an audience in Islamabad by thanking Rashid for helping militants cross the Line of Control -- the ceasefire line dividing the Pakistani and Indian zones of Kashmir -- in the early 1990s.

An embarrassed Rashid quickly issued a denial, and Malik, on his return, said he was misquoted by a Pakistani newspaper.

But India termed the comments a "matter of grave concern".

India has often accused Pakistan of aiding militancy in Kashmir by organising training camps in its zone.

Pakistan has denied any direct involvement in the militancy but has said that it gives them moral and diplomatic support. It has pledged as part of the peace process to stop militants crossing into India.