WASHINGTON, May 24: US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld confirmed here on Friday that Pakistan has moved some troops away from its border with Afghanistan to its border with India since the escalation of tensions between New Delhi and Islamabad.

Addressing a briefing at the Pentagon, Mr Rumsfeld said the current crisis in the subcontinent had already altered the number of Pakistan troops on the western border.

The chief of Central Command, Gen Tommy Franks, who is in overall charge of the coalition operations in Afghanistan, was aware of that development. Appropriate steps would be taken “if and when” additional Pakistani troops left the western theatre, Mr Rumsfeld said.

There were contingency plans on the shelf, and the US was ready to respond to any development.

The defence secretary sounded grim when he was asked about the possibility of nuclear war between Pakistan and India and the destruction it might wreak. He said while he was not inclined to go into the specific question, he would say any such war would be bad, would not be pretty and would not be short-lived.

Mr Rumsfeld reiterated US concern about the situation on the subcontinent that has been a matter of intense discussions in Wahsington over the past few days.

He said he hoped that India and Pakistan realized the consequences of their policies and the US was working with both in a variety of ways to urge the two nations to begin a process that led to a stepping down rather than a stepping up of the present confrontation.

He said not only the US but all coalition partners were worried about what was happening in South Asia.

Washington appears to be following a two-pronged policy: putting pressure on India to desist from military action and on Pakistan to dismantle perceived training facilities used by militants in Azad Kashmir. The dismantling of these facilities and stopping all aid to militant groups now seem to be at the centre of efforts that might lead India and Pakikstan to step back from the brink. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, who leaves for the region on June 4, is also believed to be carrying a similar message.

The Washington Post on Friday quoted an unnamed US official as saying: “We’re exerting a lot of pressure on Islambad right now. But we have to be mindful of the domestic pressure there too.”

Observers here point out that Washington is worried that any Indi-Pakistan conflict will not only undermine its military campaign in Afghanistan, but also de-stabilize the region and threaten broader US economic and strategic interests.

At the same time, the Bush administration’s so-called war on terrorism and its increasingly close ties with India have encouraged New Delhi to take a more belligerent stand against Pakistan.

A war will also further inflame religious militant sentiments on both sides of the Indo-Pakistan border, and at least in Pakistan actually strengthen elements that the US is so keen that the Musharraf government should control.