Singh made a foreign policy statement to parliament late Tuesday following charges that his coalition government lacks a coherent voice on world affairs.

The statement "was in response to opposition criticism that there is no clarity in foreign policy," said Uday Bhaskar, deputy chief of the Institute of Defence Studies and Analysis.

The foreign ministry is led by seasoned diplomat Natwar Singh, a former ambassador to Pakistan, but there are other power centers such as National Security Adviser J.N. Dixit, a former foreign secretary, and an active professional bureaucracy.

Since coming to power in May there have been mixed messages on sensitive negotiations with Pakistan, the terms of UN Security Council membership and the country's nuclear arms policy.

Singh seemed to sense the drift and wanted a definitive statement, Bhaskar said.

One of the first issues Singh touched on was peace talks with Pakistan, including their dispute over the scenic Himalayan region of Kashmir.

Initially some foreign policy officials had said the government may consider an October proposal by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.

Musharraf suggested that parts of Kashmir, which is divided between Pakistan and India and claimed by both, be demilitarised and either placed under United Nations mandate, put under joint control or given independence.

On Tuesday Singh said he had told Musharraf in September that peace talks would not include any "redrawing of boundaries or another partition of the country."

B.G. Verghese, of the Centre for Policy Research, said the prime minister's statement ruling out a redrawing of boundaries, while not new, carried importance because it was made in parliament.

Another foreign policy glitch occurred last week when a number of newspapers quoted unidentified senior officials as saying India could accept a permanent UN Security Council seat without a veto.

Singh said there no "ambiguity" or "confusion" on India's position.

"We do not believe there should be any discrimination in the Security Council and there should be no distinction between permanent members who have the veto and who do not not have the veto, because this position is based on the broadest possible political consensus," the prime minister said.

He also repeated a clarification on India's nuclear policy.

Foreign Minister Singh caused waves with comments to the Korea Times this month that the previous Hindu nationalist government "was responsible for the decision to enter the nuclear standoff with neighboring Pakistan."

"But regret would be futile... you cannot put it back in the tube, it's out," the minister was quoted as saying, as if disowning the 1998 nuclear tests which sparked nationalist pride in India. Pakistan responded with its own tests.

"India is a nuclear weapon state and we are a responsible nuclear power. That sums up our idea. So, there should be no doubt whatsoever," Singh said Tuesday.

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