In his latest warning on terrorism, the US Defence Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld has claimed there is evidence of al-Qaeda activity in Kashmir. He also warned that tensions between India and Pakistan had not yet been defused.
However, admitting he did not have evidence, Mr Rumsfeld said "I do not have hard evidence of precisely how many, who or where."
He was talking to reporters after holding talks with the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.
|
Mr Rumsfeld is visiting India and Pakistan in an attempt to cool tensions which neared boiling point following an attack by suspected Muslim militants last month near Kashmir's winter capital Jammu.
After a full day of talks with India's leaders, he made his way to Islamabad on the second leg of his peace mission.
At a press conference he said the situation in the region was still tense, despite India’s statement yesterday saying there had been a decrease in infiltration into Kashmir and its lifting of a six-month ban on Pakistani flights over its territories.
New Delhi also recalled warships that had been patrolling near Pakistani waters and also gave notice it was in the process of naming a new High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Islamabad has described the moves as inadequate and called for more substantive measures to be taken to defuse the crisis that has seen about a million soldiers deployed by both sides on their frontiers.
"The Indian decisions do not address the main causes of tension," a Pakistani foreign office statement said today.
"We trust that the Indian government will soon announce further steps leading to the resumption of a meaningful dialogue on disputes between the two countries, especially the core issue of Kashmir."
Mr Rumsfeld warned that the situation between the two war-ready neighbours remained tense. "It has been a situation that has been tense and it continues to be a tense situation," he said.
Referring to his claims of al-Qaeda activity, Mr Rumsfeld did not answer directly on whether the United States wanted ground forces to go after al-Qaeda fighters in Kashmir.
"We are getting the co-operation of all kinds of countries across the globe in chasing the al-Qaeda and other global terrorist networks and in working with countries to see that their countries do not become havens for terrorists," he said.
He added that the possible use of ground sensors to monitor militant incursions into Indian Kashmir was discussed during the day with India's leadership, which included National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra, Defence Minister George Fernandes and Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh.
The subject needed further discussion, especially, he added, by "technical people".
He praised Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf for cooperating with the United States in rooting out al-Qaeda, noting that Islamabad had captured and turned over "high-level al-Qaeda officials" in the past.
AFP