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NEW DELHI, Feb 2 (AFP) - India's hawkish Home Minister L K Advani said Saturday there had been no let up in militants infiltrating the border from Pakistan but vowed to "win this proxy war with Pakistan."

"Infiltration from across the borders has not come down. Whatever reduction has taken place is due to the snowfall, which happens every year from December to February," he said at a state election rally in the northern Indian Uttaranchal state.

Pakistan and India have massed 800,000 troops along their common border and traded tit-for-tat diplomatic sanctions after a deadly attack on the Indian parliament on December 13 which New Delhi has blamed on two Pakistani-based Islamic militant groups.

New Delhi has demanded Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf take stern action against extremists launching "cross-border terrorism" from its soil before a de-escalation of military power on the border.

Advani accused Islamabad of having started the "proxy war" as it could not match India's military might in an open battlefield.

Advani said Musharraf's speech last month promising tough measures against religious extremists needed to be backed up with strong action. "Our yardstick to measure his sincerity would be to see whether they have stopped the training camps, infiltration, arming, monetary support and providing refuge to terrorists, besides handing over the 20 most wanted terrorists sought by India," Advani said.

"Only then we will know whether Musharraf's utterances were sincere or meant to please the United States," he said.

New Delhi accuses Pakistan of backing separatists fighting Indian rule in the disputed Kashmir region. Pakistan denies the allegations but admits to offering "moral support" to what it calls the Kashmiri's "freedom struggle".

The tense stand-off between the nuclear rivals has prompted the international community to appeal for an easing of tensions.

"We told them (foreign countries) that we will do whatever we consider appropriate at the right time", Advani said.

He said the government would consider further measures if Pakistan failed to end "cross-border terrorism." 

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