Incursions key to S. Asia talks

Colin Powell says infiltration across the India-Pakistan border has reduced, but not stopped

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell held talks in Pakistan Sunday with President General Pervez Musharraf on easing tensions with nuclear neighbor India.

Powell said the level of tensions has been reduced since a December attack by suspected Kashmiri rebels on India's parliament brought the two countries to the brink of all-out war, but further steps need to be taken to completely defuse the situation.

"I am pleased that we have come down from that horrible pinnacle," Powell told reporters after leaving Pakistan.

India accuses Pakistan of backing Islamic militants fighting New Delhi's rule in part of Kashmir. Pakistan denies the charges, saying that it gives only moral support to groups fighting what it calls a "freedom struggle" in the disputed region.

According to India, in June there were 200 attacks by Pakistani-based militants into its territory that it says killed 200 people in Jammu and Kashmir state.

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Musharraf said publicly Sunday that he had done all he could to end cross-border incursions. But Indian officials told Powell earlier Sunday that while the incursions had slowed, they "still see evidence" that such activity has not halted completely.

Elections

Powell said Musharraf assured him that cross-border incursions "will end."

Powell also said that "clearly there has been some action" regarding terrorist training camps in Pakistan, but he said it was unclear whether the camps had been removed or were simply "moving from one place to another."

Musharraf was backed up in his pledge to end infiltration by Ehsanul Haq, head of the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, who joined their meeting, Powell told reporters.

The ISI is widely accused of links to Islamic militant groups.

India is on alert for an increase in attacks leading up to elections scheduled in the Indian-administered region in September or October this year.

India's External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha said Saturday the preconditions India requires for talks with Pakistan were still not present.

''India has always held that if the necessary conditions for talks are created, we will have talks. But we do not think that necessary conditions exist at present,'' the Press Trust of India reported Sinha as saying.

For Pakistan's estimated 140 million mostly Muslim citizens, the fight for an independent Kashmir, whose people are also predominantly Muslim, is a sacred cause.

Militant Islamists involved in cross-border incursions are considered freedom fighters in Pakistan and terrorists in India.

Independent observers

While in New Delhi, Powell called for India to allow independent observers at upcoming elections in Kashmir, saying a free and fair poll could be a first step towards permanently easing tensions over the disputed territory.

But India has rejected the suggestion, saying it has a proud history of democracy and does not need other countries to help it run elections.

At a media conference following meetings with Indian leaders, including Sinha, Powell also suggested India could release political prisoners held in India's only Muslim-dominated region.

"Allowing independent observers and freeing political prisoners would be helpful," he said.

The Indian government has detained several Kashmiri political leaders and a prominent journalist in the last few months, Associated Press reports.

Further action

Hundreds of thousands of Indian and Pakistani troops continue to face off along their 2,000 kilometer (1,800-mile) border.

"We look to India to take further de-escalatory actions as Pakistan makes good on its pledges to permanently cease support for infiltration," Powell said.

From Pakistan, Powell heads to southeast Asia and Brunei, where he will attend the two-day 10-member ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Regional Security Forum.

At this year's ASEAN meeting, member states have agreed to address, among other things, ways to eradicate the root causes of terrorism in the region.