May 30, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 17,1423

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ISLAMABAD, May 29: Japan’s Vice Foreign Minister Seiken Sugiura said on Wednesday that Pakistan had given him fresh assurances to step up measures for curbing “movements across the Line of Control”.

The assurance was held out by Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar during a meeting with the Japanese minister. Mr Sugiura left Islamabad for New Delhi in the afternoon.

Mr Sugiura refused to disclose the details of the measures he had been assured of. “We hope Pakistan will take concrete and visible steps for stopping and preventing cross-border terrorism,” he said.

He said President Gen Pervez Musharraf had also given a similar assurance to Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi who had talked to the president by phone on Tuesday.

In his telephonic conversation, President Musharraf had also expressed Pakistan’s willingness “to take every possible step” for de-escalation of tensions with India, he added.

Mr Sugiura said he had set out for a visit to Pakistan and India as a follow-up action of the telephonic contact by the Japanese premier with the president.

“We are seriously concerned over the rising tensions between India and Pakistan,” he said, adding that the Japanese government had been maintaining a close contact with the international community in its efforts to de-escalate the situation.

The vice foreign minister also expressed concern of the government and people of Japan over the series of missile tests conducted by Pakistan from May 25 to 28.

The mounting world pressure on Pakistan with regard to the alleged cross-border terrorism was also reflected in the statement of the vice foreign minister who said that Pakistan would have to remove the doubts of the international community.

When asked whether it was not possible for Japan to monitor the Line of Control through satellite and distant monitoring systems, he replied in negative. “We are not in a position to verify that,” he said.

In reply to a question whether Japan had made any proposal for defusion of tensions, he said they had no such plan but called for initiation of dialogue between Islamabad and Delhi.

Mr Sugiura said he had also urged President Musharraf to go ahead with his plan of holding elections in October.

Mr Sattar, he said, had mentioned Pakistan’s offer for deployment of international observes along the Line of Control to monitor any cross-border activity.

Mr Sugiura quoted Mr Sattar as saying that the Indian refusal to allow international observers along the LoC had made things difficult for Pakistan.

Regarding the recent missile tests Mr Sattar said that Pakistan had been exercising self-restraint and it had not tested its missile system when India had done so in January.

Mr Sugiura appreciated Pakistan’s role in the international war against terrorism and efforts being made by the government to transform Pakistan into a moderate and liberal state.