Pakistani cricket champion turned politician Imran Khan called yesterday for a "neutral umpire" like Nelson Mandela to resolve disputes between India and Pakistan.

Speaking to a conference in the Indian capital, the Pakistani MP said it was "important for the leaders to begin talks" between the South Asian rivals.

"If the mistrust between the two is too much, then let us agree on bringing in neutral umpires like Nelson Mandela to mediate," said Khan, quoted by the Press Trust of India news agency.

"I wish the UN could have come to the rescue of the people of the two countries and successfully waded them away from the air of mistrust prevailing for quite sometime," Khan said.

India and Pakistan have been at loggerheads, often violently so, over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir for a half century.

India rejects any third-party mediation in the dispute, as it considers Kashmir part of the Indian union.

Khan, a former all-rounder, said earlier on his visit here that South Asia's most popular pastime could help ease tensions between India and Pakistan.