The Pakistani Prime Minister, Mr Nawaz Sharif, and the US President, Mr Clinton agreed during nearly three hours of talks in Washington yesterday that "concrete steps will be taken" to restore the Line of Control between Indian and Pakistani-held Kashmir.
Mr Sharif and Mr Clinton also said in a joint statement that they "share the view that the current fighting in the Kargil region of Kashmir is dangerous and contains the seeds of a wider conflict."
"It was agreed between the president and the prime minister that concrete steps will be taken for the restoration of the Line of Control in accordance with the Simla Agreement," the statement said.
"The president urged an immediate cessation of the hostilities once these steps are taken," it added.
Mr Sharif had met President Clinton yesterday for talks aimed at ending fighting in Kashmir. News of Mr Sharif's visit to Washington was greeted with surprise by Pakistani government officials and by Pakistan's press.
The meeting, convened at Islamabad's request, is being seen as a sign of the Pakistani government's growing desperation about its conflict with India. Pakistan renewed its calls for dialogue with India at the weekend amid unconvincing claims that it has won the backing of the world community. Pakistan has in fact become increasingly isolated, with Western nations firmly blaming it for the crisis in Kashmir. Last week, Mr Sharif cut short a visit to China, a traditional ally, having failed to secure the support he was hoping for. India has repeatedly thwarted Pakistan's attempts to internationalise the issue. Washington insists it will not mediate in the crisis but is looking for ways to ease tensions between India and Pakistan, which conducted tit-for-tat nuclear tests in May 1998.
India's capture of the strategic Tiger Hill at the weekend is widely viewed as a turning point in the conflict. Its forces have fought a fierce battle for control of the 15,060 ft peak which overlooks India's National Highway 1A, a vital supply route for Indian troops in the region.
There has been speculation that, unless a solution is soon found, India might cross the Line of Control. Such a step could lead to allout war between the two countries.
Four years after a guerrilla group kidnapped four Westerners in Kashmir, Ms Jane Schelley, the wife of one of them, yesterday prayed at a shrine in Srinagar for her husband's release.
Ms Schelley's husband, Donald Huthings, was captured by the Al-Faran group on July 4th, 1995, along with two fellow Americans while trekking in the hills. Four days later, one American escaped and the militants captured a German and a Norwegian. The following month, the Norwegian was found beheaded in a remote Kashmir forest.