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ISLAMABAD, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, locked in a tense standoff with neighbouring India, has sent several boxes of mangoes to Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee as a goodwill gesture.

The Foreign Office in Islamabad played down the significance of the gift at a time when the two nuclear powers have massed more than a million soldiers on their border, calling it an annual ritual.

"Mangoes are sent to a number of world leaders every year," a Foreign Office spokesman told Reuters on Thursday. "This has been going on for more than 25 years."

Pakistani mangoes are some of the best in the world and are exported to several Middle East countries and Europe. India is also a big producer of the fruit.

The official said the mangoes were delivered to the Indian prime minister through the Pakistan embassy in New Delhi.

Pakistan and India have edged to the brink of war after a December raid on India's parliament which New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based Islamic militants, but the risk was averted through world diplomatic efforts led by the United States.

The disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, where Islamic militants are fighting Indian rule, is at the heart of the problem.

India accuses Pakistan of arming rebels and sending them into Indian Kashmir. Pakistan says infiltration has stopped.

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