June 13, 2002	Thursday	Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1423

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LONDON, June 12: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Tuesday his government now accepted that “armed militants” fighting Indian forces in occupied Kashmir had links with Pakistan’s ISI.

Straw told British MPs that in the past decade “the character of the (Kashmir) conflict” had changed with “the incursion of armed militants” from Azad Kashmir into occupied Kashmir.

“India has long charged that such terrorism has had the covert support of successive Pakistani governments, and in particular the Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISID), the main intelligence agency in Pakistan.

“Her majesty’s government accepts that there is a clear link between ISID and these groups,” Straw added.

MOSCOW: Russia on Wednesday called on Islamabad to reciprocate India’s steps to defuse tension.

“We believe the goodwill New Delhi has shown can lay a good foundation for the resumption of political dialogue between India and Pakistan,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“These are steps in the right direction. They make a real contribution to relieving tension in Indian-Pakistani relations and are in line with the peacemaking efforts of Russia and the international community,” the Russian statement said.—Reuters / AFP