January 22, 2002	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 7, 1422

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TACOMA, Washington, Jan 21: US Secretary of State Colin Powell, flying home from a one-week tour of Asia, said on Monday he would resume work on reducing tension between India and Pakistan after a few days of diversions.

Powell, through visits to Islamabad and New Delhi last week, helped put the brake further on what had looked like a slow slide toward war between the nuclear rivals.

But, speaking to reporters on his plane between Tokyo and the United States on Monday, he said he would not rest there and turn his back on the dispute.

“I have no illusions and I need more movement there before something (happens) ... to have us sliding backward,” he said.

During Powell’s visit to Delhi, Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh gave out encouraging signals, saying India could envisage a return to the status quo that existed before militants triggered the crisis by attacking the Indian parliament on Dec 13.

Powell said he last addressed the Indian-Pakistani confrontation on Friday when he called Musharraf from Kathmandu and urged him to look at additional information from India on a list of 20 men wanted for attacks on Indians.—Reuters