NEW DELHI, Aug 23: Visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage on Friday heard Indian complaints of Pakistan’s continued support for alleged cross-border infiltration in Kashmir, officials and diplomats said.

Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes, during an hour-long meeting with Armitage, drew the visitor’s attention to “the five attempts made by Pakistan this week to sneak in militants from across the Line of Control,” an Indian news channel said.

According to this version of the talks, Fernandes told the US Deputy Secretary that New Delhi had “ample evidence of plans by Pakistan to disrupt the Indian-sponsored elections in Jammu and Kashmir”.

Fernandes, according to the network, made it clear to Armitage that India would firmly deal with any attempts to disrupt the elections, which despite alleged threats held out from across the border, were claimed to be evoking fair response in the Valley.

Armitage also held wide-ranging talks with Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal and was later scheduled to hold talks with National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra.

Shortly after Armitage’s arrival, Pakistan accused India of launching an “unprovoked attack” on a Pakistan army post. India denied the incident.

A similar charge by Pakistan in October last year was promptly denied by India, but was vindicated later in December. It remains unclear till today who led whom, in the run-up to the buildup that eventually turned into a menacing nuclear standoff.

Pakistan had said on Oct 18 last year that it had put its armed forces on high alert, claiming that it had detected Indian troop movements near its shared border. That charge had coincided with the visit to New Delhi by US Secretary of State Colin Powell. Pakistani government spokesman Gen. Rashid Qureishi said at the time: “We have information wherein India has moved some troops and relocated some air force assets which may too be a threat.”

That charge came true in December, although no one knows exactly what circuitous route it took to arrive there.

And, like Friday’s denial, an Indian spokesperson had said something similar then too. “Reports of a troop buildup are a complete fabrication. We reject such statements in their totality and restraint should be exercised by the spokesman on the Pakistan side.”

Following Friday’s talks between Armitage and Indian officials, it was decided that the Indian and American navies will soon hold another round of joint exercises in the Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea.

There would also be joint exercises in Alaska. Both countries are testing counter-terrorism manoeuvres to safeguard their sea lanes, US diplomats said. Armitage declined to speak with reporters and his meetings were closed to the media.

Though India and Pakistan have toned down their battlefield rhetoric, the two sides are still on a war footing, with one million troops along their frontier.

Indian Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani, in London at present, on Thursday described the standoff as a state of war.

Pro-freedom Kashmiris have called for a boycott of Indian-backed elections to be held in September and October. They claim that past elections were rigged in favour of the pro-India ruling party and that Kashmiris should first be allowed to fulfil a decades- old UN resolution giving them the right to self-determination.

Powell had told Indian leaders during a visit last month that transparent elections in Kashmir would be a step toward finding a solution to the dispute. He suggested India allow foreign monitors to observe the polls.

India ruled out the option, saying it is capable of holding fair elections.

Indian officials said New Delhi expected pressure by Armitage to resume dialogue with Pakistan.

India would wait until after the Kashmir elections to determine whether the nations were ready to resume talks, they said.

In a closed-door meeting with Indian business leaders, Armitage spoke about political, strategic and economic ties between the burgeoning allies.

Both countries hope to accelerate information technology trade. While imports from the United States to India have remained steady, at six billion dollars a year, Indian exports to America have grown to 13.5 billion dollars.—J.N