World seeks to calm Pakistan-India tensions
January 10, 2002 Posted: 7:15 AM EST (1215 GMT)
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Pakistani President General Pervez Musharraf is on his way to Nepal for a summit of South Asian leaders, traveling via a brief stopover in Beijing, China. 

His visit comes as diplomatic efforts intensify to persuade the leaders of India and Pakistan to meet face-to-face on the sidelines of the Kathmandu, Nepal, meeting as a way of calming tensions between the two nuclear rivals. 

Musharraf and Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee are both due in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, Friday for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) summit. 
It will be the first time the two leaders have been under the same roof since the December 13 suicide attack on the Indian parliament that left 14 dead. 

New Delhi blames the attack on Kashmir-based militants -- supported, it says, by Pakistan. It is demanding Pakistan shut down the two groups it says were involved as well as arrest a list of suspects it believes were behind that attack and others on Indian territory. 

Pakistan denies the charges saying it only provides moral support to groups seeking to end Indian rule in Kashmir. 

It also says it will not act against anyone on the list without evidence, which, it says, India has yet to provide. 

At present both Indian and Pakistani officials say no bilateral meetings are scheduled for the Nepal SAARC summit although there has been speculation that the countries' two foreign ministers might sit down for talks on the subject.

India's Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh and Pakistan's Abdul Sattar met briefly Wednesday in what was described as a cordial atmosphere

Diplomats say the most dangerous potential flashpoint is the disputed region of Kashmir. 

On Wednesday Indian authorities said Kashmiri separatists launched a grenade attack on a police convoy in the region, killing one person and wounding at least 19 others. 
Although the exchanges of fire are still relatively minor, fears are growing that without dialogue between the two governments such clashes could spark a dangerous escalation.

 Preparing for war
The row following the early December suicide attack in India has sent India-Pakistan relations plummeting to their lowest level in years. Both countries are deploying large numbers of troops and weaponry to reinforce positions along their shared border. 

People living along both sides of the India-Pakistan border are preparing for the possibility of war. 

Pakistani officials have been conducting civil defense drills in some parts of the country while Indian villagers living close to the frontier zone are moving to safer areas. 
Kashmir is a mountainous region. 
Chinese ally
Musharraf's stopover in Beijing will include a meeting with Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji during which the rising tensions with India are expected to top the agenda. 

China has been a key Pakistani ally for several decades and has expressed concern over the dangers of any escalation in the rivalry between South Asia's two nuclear powers. 

The stopover comes less than 10 days after a state visit to China by Musharraf during which the two countries agreed to strengthen their already close friendship. 

U.S. concerns
Washington is keen to see an easing of the standoff soon fearing that if it continues it may impact upon the progress of the war in Afghanistan and the pursuit of al Qaeda terrorists. 

Already U.S. officials estimate Pakistan has withdrawn half its troops from the Afghan border and redeployed them to Kashmir. 

They fear that with less of a Pakistani troop presence the border could become more passable to fleeing Taliban and al Qaeda fighters than it already is.