September 15, 2003	Monday	Rajab 17, 1424

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NEW DELHI, Sept 14: Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha has ruled out talks with Pakistan unless it stops what he called “cross-border terrorism”, saying ‘military’ government in Islamabad government is a stumbling block to peace.

Sinha said in an interview published by the Hindustan Times newspaper on Sunday that no dialogue was possible, even on the sidelines of the United Nations general assembly this month, which both Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf are expected to attend.

Surging violence in recent weeks in Kashmir, which is at the heart of the dispute between the two countries, has also cast new doubts on tentative peace moves between the South Asian rivals.

“Whether it is New York, Timbuktu, Islamabad or New Delhi, there is no bilateral dialogue possible till Pakistan stops cross- border terrorism,” the paper quoted Sinha as saying.

Ties between the nuclear-armed neighbours, which nearly went to war for a fourth time last year, have improved slightly in recent months but India has linked fresh talks to an end to attacks by freedom fighters fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. India and Pakistan have restored full diplomatic links following a call for talks by Vajpayee in April.

They have also resumed a cross-border bus service suspended in the wake of a bloody raid on the Indian parliament in December 2001 that New Delhi blamed on Pakistan-based militants. The two are also in talks to resume air links.—Reuters