WASHINGTON, Sept 9: US Secretary of State Colin Powell told his Indian counterpart on Monday that Washington was asking Pakistan not to interfere with voting in Jammu and Kashmir, overshadowed by the threat of violence.

Powell has been a key figure assuring India that the United States was successfully pushing Pakistan to stop activists crossing into held Kashmir to carry out attacks — an effort that helped pull the nuclear-capable neighbors back from the brink of war this year.

“I reaffirmed to the minister that we would continue to press the Pakistani government to do everything possible to stop the cross-border infiltration and remind them of the commitment they have made ... that they would not support such activity and would work actively to stop it,” Powell said.

“And I reaffirmed to the minister that we have spoken to the Pakistanis about not interfering in any way with those elections, which we expect will be free and fair, and there will be an opportunity for people to see that the elections are being held in an open, free and fair manner,” he added.—Reuters