US Secretary of State Mr Colin Powell leaves for South Asia today hoping to defuse tensions between India and Pakistan whose armies are mobilised along their border.
Mr Powell, who was also due to visit Afghanistan, said yesterday he would be discussing with India a pledge made on Saturday by Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf to curb Islamic militancy.
"The Indians have to make the judgement as to when they move their forces, and I will point to them what has transpired, and see if we can find ways to go down this de-escalatory ladder," he said in an interview with CBS Evening News.
Indian Defence Minister Mr George Fernandes said yesterday India would not pull back its troops until President Musharraf delivered on his promises, prompting Pakistan to say it too would keep its army mobilised along the border.
Close to one million troops are massed along the border in a crisis triggered by an attack on India's parliament last month, blamed by New Delhi on Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatists.
Mr Powell, who was to hold talks in Islamabad Wednesday and in New Delhi Thursday, has said a war between the two over disputed Kashmir would be "unthinkable" and a "disaster".
Pakistan and India, which conducted nuclear tests in 1998, have fought two of their three wars over Kashmir.
The Indian cabinet was meeting today for the first time since President Musharraf's landmark speech to review its response.