Armitage urges Pakistan-India talks

U.S. Secretary of State Richard Armitage yesterday urged "face-to-face" dialogue between Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir crisis and said Washington would continue its efforts in that direction.

"We can offer assistance; we cannot impose a solution and should not impose a solution," he told reporters after an hour-long meeting with President General Pervez Musharraf a day after holding talks with Indian leaders in New Delhi.

The unabated eight-month military standoff and Thursday's alleged Indian attack on a high altitude Pakistani military post in northern Kashmir, which New Delhi has denied, figured during the talks.

Armitage also held separate talks with Minister for Foreign Affairs Inamul Haq and Interior Minister Moinuddin Haider.

Officials said Pakistan underscored that India continued to speak the language of force and was yet to respond to steps taken by Islamabad to defuse tensions.

"The U.S. is trying to bring about a situation where India and Pakistan could sit face to face to have dialogue to solve their problem," Armitage said.

"It is desirable for India and Pakistan to engage in dialogue. The responsibility is on the shoulders of the two countries. The U.S. is using and will continue to use its good offices for this purpose.

"We want most prosperous future for our friends here in Pakistan and in India. We are going to work as appropriate to bring about that."

Armitage acknowledged that little had changed in the tense standoff since his last visit in June when the two nuclear-armed nations stepped back from the brink of a war after Pakistan pledge to check flow of militants into Indian Kashmir.

He said there had been no shift from the assurances he got from Pakistan during his previous trip.

"There is some obvious infiltration across the LoC (line of control in Kashmir), but our friends in Pakistan have assured that this is not something sponsored by the government."

Asked about the alleged Indian attack Armitage only said he had heard about such reports, adding that any violence was "regrettable".

He thanked Musharraf for the continued help by the "excellent" army and police force of Pakistan in tracking Taliban and Al Qaida fugitives in difficult conditions along the Pakistan-Afghan border.

Armitage said the full length of Pak-U.S. ties came under discussion, indicating that the leaders of the two countries would meet during Musharraf's visit to New York for the UN General Assembly next month.