A Home Ministry official said Wednesday that Musharraf applied for the visa in London where he lives. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information. He did not say why the visa was denied.

Musharraf had been invited to speak to an organization of business professionals. "He wanted to visit several Indian cities and attend a few events but we have expressed our reservations on granting Musharraf a visa," the Home Ministry official said.

Musharraf, who was born in New Delhi before the subcontinent's partition, fought against India in 1965 and 1971 wars and led Pakistan's Army in the 1999 Kargil conflict in which militants infiltrated India's zone of Kashmir. The conflict nearly provoked an all-out war between the two nuclear-armed countries.

In a recent interview, Musharraf accused India of fomenting separatist unrest in Pakistan's Balochistan province. India and Pakistan are longtime rivals and their governments often trade such barbs.

Citizens of both countries have trouble obtaining visas to cross the border.

Musharraf took power in a 1999 coup and was forced to resign as president in 2008.