May 31, 2002	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 18,1423

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WASHINGTON, May 30: American diplomatic efforts aimed at containing the present tensions between Pakistan and India went up another notch or two on Thursday when it was announced that Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will go the region next week.

Making the announcement, President Bush said after presiding over a cabinet meeting that the US was seeking to impress upon the leaders of India and Pakistan that war would not serve their interests.

Pressure was being applied on both countries, Mr Bush added, to prevent a conflict, particularly on President Pervez Musharraf, who “must” stop cross-border infiltration and “live up to his promises”.

Mr Rumsfeld’s trip was announced following new worries about war amidst reports that India is getting its missiles battle- ready and news of a fresh militant attack in Kashmir.

Mr Rumsfeld is expected to travel to the region after attending a Nato meeting in Brussels early next month, but he told his regular Pentagon briefing in the afternoon that dates had not been finalized.

White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer pointed out that Mr Rumsfeld’s visit was part of a series of efforts on the part of the US and the international community to prevent events in the subcontinent from spiralling in the wrong direction. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage is due in Islamabad on June 6.

The state department had warned on Wednesday that escalating tensions could lead India and Pakistan to find themselves in a situation where irresponsible elements could spark a conflict, and a serious conflagration could ensue if events went out of control.

Mr Rumsfeld, while describing disagreements between India and Pakistan as substantial, refused to accept suggestions that war between India and Pakistan was inevitable. Mr Rumsfeld did not elaborate on what he would discuss with leaders of Pakistan and India, but said a whole range of issues would be tackled. He said concern was natural when you had two countries with substantial forces and nuclear power as well locked in confrontation, and added that he would try to be as helpful as possible to the two countries.

The defence secretary said there were no immediate plans for a mass evacuation of American military and civilian personnel from the region, as reported by USA Today in Thursday’s issue, and State Department spokesman Richard Boucher also said no decisions had yet been made beyond the travel advisories already issued. Mr Boucher pointed out that contingency plans always existed to deal with situations as they arose.

USA Today had said a US government team was in India working on a contingency plan to evacuate 1,100 US servicemen on three bases in Pakistan and more than 60,000 US citizens in both countries. The presence of a team has been denied by US officials.

In his remarks on the India-Pakistan crisis, Mr Fleischer referred to the regional meeting scheduled for Kazakhstan which both President Pervez Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee were expected to attend as part of the international diplomacy now at work to contain the South Asian crisis. He said Pakistan had a robust military force and the capacity to prevent cross-border infiltration.

Mr Rumsfeld’s Pentagon briefing was almost wholly taken up by questions relating to India and Pakistan. He said the number of Pakistani batallions on the border with Afghanistan had not changed so far, and refused to speculate about what might or might not happen in the future.

He said obviously if Pakistan troops were moved away, then US and coalition forces on the Afghanistan side of the border would have to be more attentive.

President Bush had said earlier that Al Qaeda should be under no illusion that a conflict between Pakistan and India would lessen US determination to “hunt them (Al Qaeda) down”.