Islamabad, Aug 25 (GDN): Pakistan released 337 Indian prisoners, most of them fishermen, yesterday in the latest sign that Pakistan's new government wants to improve rocky ties.

But the push by Pakistan's civilian government to improve relations with India has been undermined by a series of clashes that began this month along their border dividing the disputed Kashmir region.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif says better relations with India are key to restoring a flagging economy but it is Pakistan's military that traditionally sets foreign and security policies, even during periods of civilian rule.

The prisoners, including fishermen detained for straying into what Pakistan sees as its waters over the past two years, were allowed to go home through the Wagah border crossing.

But an Indian foreign ministry spokesman said New Delhi would not make a reciprocal gesture.

"The release is only of those who have completed prison terms and have been identified as nationals. This is a normal process," the Indian spokesman said.

Before the latest clashes along the so-called Line of Control separating Indian- and Pakistani-controlled parts of Kashmir, the two countries had agreed to resume stalled talks on improving ties.

Sharif is due to meet his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, at the United Nations in New York next month. India and Pakistan have fought three wars since becoming independent from Britain in 1947, two of them over the Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir.