INDIA: The US Secretary of State, Mr Colin Powell, yesterday said the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan depended on "further action" by Islamabad.
"I think we are on a path that will lead to the restoration of dialogue and confidence building activities, but it will take further action (on Pakistan's part) before we take that path," Mr Powell told a news conference in Delhi.
He indicated that the dismantlement of the military build-up between the neighbours seemed imminent. "I leave here encouraged that we can find a solution to this troubling situation," Mr Powell said before departing for Nepal, the last stopover of a South Asian tour that also took him to Afghanistan.
Mr Powell's primary mission in visiting the region was to avert the outbreak of war between nuclear rivals India and Pakistan following last month's suicide attack by five gunmen on the parliament in Delhi.
Mr Powell, who earlier held talks with the Indian Prime Minister, Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and the National Security Adviser, Mr Brajesh Mishra, said he was "encouraged" by his discussions with the Indian leadership.
He said India had given additional evidence to Islamabad and Washington regarding the involvement of 20 terrorists and criminals whose extradition from Pakistan Delhi is demanding. Mr Powell said he was confident that the Pakistani President, Gen Pervez Musharraf, would examine this new data to resolve the issue to the "mutual satisfaction of both".
