August 28, 2002	Wednesday	Jamadi-us-Saani 18,1423

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WASHINGTON, Aug 27: The United States has again asserted that tensions between India and Pakistan have decreased despite the presence of more than a million troops on the border, which it said was a continued source of concern.

Pakistan had earlier rejected a claim by the US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage as “optimistic.”

Armitage, who visited the region over the weekend, had told reporters in Islamabad that there had been a marked improvement in the situation in South Asia.

But the State Department’s spokesman Boucher repeated Armitage’s claim at a briefing in Washington on Monday that the US had “seen a decrease in tensions between India and Pakistan over the last several weeks and months.”

“We, however, remain concerned about continuing a high level of military mobilization on both sides of the border and the Line of Control in Kashmir,” he added.

Boucher said the US would continue to encourage the two nuclear neighbours “to lower tensions and engage in dialogue to resolve their differences”.

He said Armitage’s visit to the region was a part of the US effort to promote peace in South Asia.

Boucher said during his visit Armitage held “very productive meetings with senior officials in both countries” but did not explain what did the senior US envoy achieve in the talks.

He said Armitage discussed the full range of US relations with both countries, including bilateral relations and de-escalation of tensions. “In India, he talked about multilateral issues and about strategic issues and security issues,” he added.

Armitage’s visit was a follow up to a similar trip by Secretary of State Colin Powell who spent two days in the Indian and Pakistani capitals last month before flying over to south-east Asia. The US has remained engaged in the subcontinent since Dec 13 last year when a terrorist attack on the Indian parliament brought the two nuclear rivals close to yet another war.