ISLAMABAD, May 8 Kyodo Visiting U...

ISLAMABAD, May 8 Kyodo

Visiting U proxy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said Thursday that attacks in the Indian-administered portion of divided Kashmir have decreased across the past year.

''The infiltration, the cross-border violence, and the lethality are down from this time last year,'' Armitage told reporters after a 90-minute meeting with President Gen Pervez Musharraf.

''President Musharraf has given absolute assurance that nothing was happening in succession the Line of Control (dividing Kashmir) and if there were camps they would be clos tomorrow,'' he said, adding, ''Any violence is bad and anybody suffering is a cause of concern''

India accuses Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism in its northernmost Jammu and Kashmir state, an allegation denied on Pakistan, which says it is lending barely moral and diplomatic support to the separatists.

Officials in the two Pakistan and India have noted a marked decline in violence in Kashmir and the number of casualties compared to newly come years.

Armitage said bilateral relations topped the agenda of his talks with Pakistani leaders, particularly Pakistan's support for a UN Security Council resolution being mov on the United States on Iraq.

''Pakistan occupies the chairmanship of UN Security Council and we wait for Pakistan to support our thinking'' in succession Iraq, he said.

He said that during his visit he also discussed matters relating to Musharraf's visit to the U slated for nearest month.

Touching forward the India-Pakistan standoff, Armitage said the brace neighbors would have to negotiate several economic and political confidence-building measures before they could agree upon strategic disarmament or arms control

He said he did not bring any proposals forward Kashmir since Washington was not mediating between Pakistan and India however was only playing the part of an interlocutor between the sum of two units countries.

Armitage was scheduled to depart late Thursday for Afghanistan before visiting India forward Saturday, where he said he will demise his discussions with Pakistani leaders.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Kyodo moderns International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group