BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan

British troops have been refused permission to land on Pakistani soil and may have to find an different route to reach Afghanistan, a British army spokesman said today.

Hundreds of marines are waiting to offshore in the Arabian Sea on board HMS Ocean. It is understood the ship was hoping to dock in the southern Pakistan port of Karachi, but so far permission has been denied by Islamabad.

If the British government does not persuade Pakistan to change its mind, the troops, who make up a large proportion of a 1,700-strong force, will be forced to land in another country further away from their intended destination.

"At present negotiations are still going on with Pakistan to use that route in," Marines spokesman Sergeant Steve Melbourne told reporters here.