NEW DELHI, July 30: India on Tuesday rejected a call by Asean foreign ministers that New Delhi and Islamabad should resume immediate dialogue and resolve their differences through peaceful means, Indian media reports from Brunei said.

The reports coincided with a debate in the Indian parliament on Tuesday in which the opposition and the government rejected a demand at the weekend by US Secretary of State Colin Powell to hold the proposed elections in Kashmir under international supervision.

Press Trust of India, in a dispatch from Brunei, quoted External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha as saying that India was not shy of holding a dialogue with Pakistan, but that it would serve no purpose because of what New Delhi calls Islamabad’s continued support to cross-border terrorism.

“We are not against any dialogue (with Pakistan) but if cross-border terrorism is there and killings continue it would not be fair to expect India to start a dialogue,” Mr Sinha said. He is visiting Brunei to attend the seventh annual meeting of the Asean Regional Forum.

Mr Sinha’s comments came in response to a call by the Asean foreign ministers to India and Pakistan to resume immediate dialogue and resolve their differences through peaceful means, PTI said.

“Recognizing terrorism as a global threat, South East Asian countries today vowed to fight it together while calling upon India and Pakistan to resume dialogue and settle their differences peacefully to restore peace and stability in the region,” PTI said.

Declaring that peace and stability in South Asia was important to the whole region and beyond, the 10 Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) foreign ministers at the end of their 35th meeting hoped that New Delhi and Islamabad would take all necessary steps to defuse tensions.

The Asean view of the South Asian standoff was reflected in the joint communique issued at the meeting.

In the parliament’s debate on Mr Powell’s visit, the government rejected his suggestion to hold polls in Kashmir under international supervision. Junior foreign minister Digvijay Singh said India needed no lessons on how to hold elections.

“Elections have been held (in Kashmir) for several years and they have always been free and fair,” Mr Singh retorted. “Elections were held even during the Emergency, so no one can doubt us about their impartiality.”

The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and major opposition parties have already rejected as ‘unacceptable’ Mr Powell’s observations that Jammu and Kashmir was on the international agenda and that international observers should monitor the forthcoming election.

BJP president M. Venkaiah Naidu was quoted as describing Mr Powell’s suggestion for international observers as ‘interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign country’.

However, the Congress party and other opposition groups have accused the government of being too polite with Mr Powell.

The chief of the Congress foreign affairs cell, Natwar Singh, said: “The Congress party welcomes improvement in Indo-US relations. But, we have objection to US Secretary of State Colin Powell’s statement that Kashmir was on the international agenda.”