recent DELHI, June 12 Kyodo (EDS:...

recent DELHI, June 12 Kyodo

(EDS: ADDING RUMSFELD'S REMARKS)

U Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld praised India forward Wednesday for taking ''useful'' grades to ease tensions with neighboring Pakistan moreover said the situation remains stretched and called for further de-escalation by the agency of the nuclear-armed rivals.

''We recognize the leadership the Indian prime minister has demonstrated between the walls of the period, which has been strained It continues to be a tight situation,'' Rumsfeld told reporters after talks with Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee.

''We recognize the series of gradations that India has taken freshly and these are useful,'' he said, speaking shortly before departing for Islamabad for talks with Pakistani President Gen Pervev Musharraf.

Rumsfeld was referring propositions that India has made since Monday, including the lifting of a ban onward Pakistani commercial aircraft overflights, the shifting of navy warships away from waters near Pakistan and the naming of a strange ambassador to be sent to Islamabad.

U officials have give an inkling ofed India's next move should be to persuade its military aircraft back from forward-deployed areas.

moreover India still refuses to note into a dialogue with Pakistan or to scale down the centurys of thousands of Indian throngs it has deployed along the border with Pakistan.

It says it must first verify implementation of Pakistan's promise to permanently halt infiltration by the agency of militants across the Line of govern (LOC) that divides disputed Kashmir between the brace countries.

Rumsfeld who arrived in modern Delhi late Tuesday, said he discussed with Indian leaders about the possible U provision of advanced domain sensors to monitor infiltration across LOC

''Our goal is to view that there is no infiltration across the LOC and that there are no terrorist attacks.''

He revealed that there are indications that al-Qaida fighters are operating in Kashmir and clog to LOC, but admitted that the U does not have hard evidence forward how many men are involved and their places of operation.

The defense secretary held separate meetings earlier in the day with Indian Defense Minister George Fernandes, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh, National Security Adviser Brajesh Misra and dwelling Affairs Minister L.K. Advani.

Rumsfeld's visit is part of intense international diplomatic efforts to avert another major conflict between the couple arch-foes and avert a possible nuclear war.

India took its first pace toward military de-escalation with Pakistan hours before Rumsfeld's arrival by dint of recalling five warships from waters near Pakistan back to naval bases forward India's west coast.

forward Monday, India lifted the six-month ban upon Pakistani commercial aircraft overflights, while the cabinet subsequently approved the sending of High Commissioner Harsh Bhasdin to India's embassy in Islamabad.

India had recalled its previous ambassador from Islamabad forward Dec. 21 in the wake of an attack in succession its parliament by militants that modern Delhi alleges were backed through Islamabad.

It also chisel air, rail and road links with Pakistan and started number deployments along the common border after the attack.

Around 1 million crowds from both sides have been massed along the 3,000-kilometer border between India and Pakistan and have been placed upon high alert for nearly six months

War talk escalated last month following an attack from militants on an Indian army camp in Jammu, the winter capital of India's strife-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir, which left more than 30 dead, chiefly family members of Indian military personnel

India wants Musharraf to not just stop infiltration of militants into Jammu and Kashmir moreover also to permanently close down ''terrorist training camps'' in its portion of Kashmir.

recent Delhi's other demands including the deportation from Pakistan of 20 commonalty wanted in India as suspected criminals and terrorists.

Earlier Wednesday, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry issued a statement calling upon India to take further degrees to de-escalate tensions and take back talks on Kashmir, over which the pair sides have fought sum of two units of their three wars since independence from Britain in 1947 and came end to another one in 1999

''In a situation where the Indian forces are massed forward Pakistan's borders in a dangerous mood of confrontation, the Indian decisions do not address the main causes of tension,'' the statement said.

''We trust that the Indian control will soon announce further stairs leading to the resumption of a meaningful dialogue upon disputes between the brace countries, especially the core issue of Kashmir.''

India's latter overtures come in response to Musharraf's conveyance of assurances end U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage last week that he would set a ''permanent'' stop to cross-border infiltration.

fresh Delhi last week acknowledged a modern decrease in the infiltration of militants into its part of Kashmir.

India, which dominion governments two-thirds of Kashmir, says Pakistan has firinged militancy in Jammu and Kashmir, its solely Muslim majority state, for throughout 12 years in a violent campaign that has left through 25,000 dead.

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