NEW DELHI, May 29: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw assured India on Wednesday that Pakistan was serious about ending the cross-border terrorism in Kashmir, as he held talks to defuse tensions between the nuclear-armed powers.

As heavy shelling pounded the disputed border in Kashmir, Straw said Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf genuinely wanted to stop what India calls “cross-border terrorism” in the Himalayan region.

“I believe that General Musharraf is serious, but the test of everything is action on the ground,” Straw told a press conference midway through talks with Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh.

But Singh again said India was growing impatient with Musharraf, despite the Pakistan leader’s statement this week that infiltration was not taking place.

“General Musharraf has had all the time that he wants since September 11,” Singh said. “It is vital that he sees the urgency of the situation.”

Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, speaking to his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Koizumi on telephone, said New Delhi would like “to walk along the path of peace.”

“It is absolutely necessary to avoid a war, but there is a limit to our patience,” Vajpayee said, according to a Japanese foreign ministry official.

A string of foreign officials are visiting the two countries in hopes of preventing what would be the first full-scale war between nuclear-armed states.

In addition to the British and Japanese envoys, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Anatoly Safonov visited Islamabad on Tuesday.

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage will fly to the region next week, following a blitz of telephone diplomacy by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered to arrange face-to-face talks between Musharraf and Vajpayee when they attend a regional conference from June 3 to 5 in Kazakhstan.

But the Indian foreign minister has ruled out such a meeting, saying there can be no dialogue with Pakistan until it shuts down “terrorism camps” in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.—AFP

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.