NEW DELHI, Jan 21: India rejected on Wednesday a suggestion by Britain that security in South Asia was linked to the Kashmir dispute, and urged nations to act against states which “sponsored terrorism”.

“When the foreign secretary of the UK visited us he shared his perceptions about the situation, and I equally told him and all the interlocutors that this is your perception,” India’s Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee told journalists.

“We do not share with it,” he said.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said last week he did not believe Pakistan’s government directed the November attacks in Mumbai and showed no support for India’s demand for extradition of the accused.

He also said stability in South Asia was linked to resolution of the dispute over Kashmir.

Miliband’s comments were seen as embarrassing the Indian government and highlighting a chasm between New Delhi and some of its key Western allies, which think there may not be enough evidence to implicate the Pakistani state. But what has alarmed India the most was Miliband’s comment on Kashmir.

India, analysts say, is worried Miliband’s comments signalled a broader Western strategy that sees resolution of the dispute as crucial to bringing stability to Pakistan and Afghanistan. India sees Kashmir as a bilateral issue and dismisses any outside influence.

Reiterating India’s frustration at “Pakistan’s failure to act” against the militant group India blamed for the Mumbai raids, Mukherjee urged the international community to act fast.

“It is high time for the international community to recognise that such recalcitrant states must be brought to discipline by resorting to various international mechanisms,” he told a regional security conference in New Delhi on Wednesday.

Islamabad, which denies any state involvement in the attacks, has said it will look at the “information” India has provided.

Besides demanding extradition of the accused, India also wants Pakistan to destroy what it says are militant camps.—Reuters