WASHINGTON, June 10: In a bid to lock India and Pakistan in a dialogue for peace prompted by the recent visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will arrive in Islamabad from New Delhi on Wednesday and meet President Gen Pervez Musharraf on Thursday.

“Will India be delivering on its promise of reciprocity as indicated by Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh before Secretary Rumsfeld’s arrival in New Delhi is yet to be seen,” said diplomatic sources here. Mr Armitage was told by India that it would take diplomatic and military measures to lower tensions with Pakistan in reciprocation for President Musharraf’s assurances of long-term solution to the issue of cross-border infiltration in Kashmir.

“I understand they are talking about diplomatic actions which could include the return of some people to diplomatic postings in Islamabad and some ratcheting down of some sort of military tensions,” Mr Armitage told reporters in the Estonian capital of Tallin where he had arrived to brief Secretary Rumsfeld on his meetings with Pakistani and Indian leaders.

Pakistan’s High Commissioner to India, Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, who was last month asked to leave New Delhi when India threatened Pakistan with military action, is scheduled to arrive in Washington to brief Bush administration after the visit of Secretary Rumsfeld to Pakistan.