The prime minister has denied there is a rift with Pakistan following criticism that the war on terror is failing in its central objective.

Tony Blair was holding talks with General Pervez Musharraf on Monday after the Pakistani president said the world was less safe as a result of US and UK led action in the Middle East.

Musharraf has been a key ally in the operation to remove the Taliban from neighbouring Afghanistan but spoke out against what he sees as the failure to address the underlying social causes of terrorism, as well as attacking groups such as al Qaeda.

Asked in an interview for the BBC's Newsnight programme whether the world was less safe since the terror attacks on New York and Washington in 2001 he replied: "Absolutely."

But clarifying his comments at a Number 10 press conference following the talks, Musharraf said there are "two dimensions" to tackling terror.

"I know the prime minister has the resolve and he is trying to get at the core of the issue," he told reporters.

"That is resolving political disputes while simultaneously fighting terror."

The prime minister paid tribute to Musharraf's "courage" in the fight against terrorism and said he and President Bush "completely agreed" with the point being made on addressing the social and political roots of terror, particularly in the Middle East.

"Most sensible people looking at the world today know that since September 11 we have got to take every action that we can - and both Pakistan and Britain agree on this - to fight terrorism militarily," Blair said.

"But we would be foolish to ignore the causes upon which terrorism preys.

"That is why we have got to address the political disputes as well."

Causes

In the BBC interview President Musharraf had said "we are not addressing the core problems".

"Therefore we can never address it in its totality. We are fighting it in its immediate context, but we are not fighting it in its strategic, long-term context," he argued.

He added inequalities and political grievances in the region would continue to fuel terrorist recruiting.

"What gives rise to a young man or woman to give up her or his life?" he asked.

"It is the political disputes and we need to resolve them and also illiteracy and poverty. These combined are breeding grounds of extremism and terrorism."

The Downing Street talks also focussed on the situation in Iraq, the Middle East, the Kashmir dispute with India and progress in moving Pakistan towards full democracy, following the military coup which brought Musharraf to power.

Blair said he welcomed "all the moves by both India and Pakistan" on Kashmir and encouraged further "dialogue".

And Number 10 insisted key steps are being taken on bringing democracy to Pakistan.

"The important question is whether Pakistan is moving in the right direction. We believe it is," the prime minister's official spokesman said.