Al-Qaida Active Close to Indian Border, Says Rumsfeld

The US defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that there were "indications" that fugitive al-Qaida fighters were now operating in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir, close to the porous border with India.

After a meeting with India's Hindu nationalist prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Mr Rumsfeld revealed that there were fresh signs of al-Qaida activity in the disputed region.

"I don't have any hard evidence of how many or where," he said.

Last night, India claimed that it too had proof that al-Qaida was operating in the area. "We have every reason to believe there is evidence of al-Qaida operations in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir," the Indian foreign office said. "We need to be vigilant about this. We have communicated this to the United States."

Mr Rumsfeld's comments are likely to please India, which has sought to project its struggle against militancy as part of the global war on terror. They follow unconfirmed reports that US troops might be sent to Indian-controlled Kashmir to continue the flagging hunt for al-Qaida.

US officials have also indicated that Mr Rumsfeld discussed the possibility of supplying India with sophisticated surveillance equipment to detect infiltration across its border with Pakistan.

Over the past two weeks, Indian military sources have claimed that several militants gunned down by its security forces have been of "Arab appearance".

The US defence secretary, who is on a two-day peace mission to the region, last night flew to Islamabad for further talks with Pakistan's ruler, General Pervez Musharraf.

Before setting off, he praised New Delhi for the "constructive" steps it had taken over the past three days to end its confrontation with Islamabad.

But he said the crisis between the two nuclear rivals was not over yet. "The region has been tense and continues to be tense," he said.

Pakistani officials had earlier made it clear that they were so far unimpressed with India's efforts to reduce tension, which include recalling five warships and re-opening its airspace to Pakistani aircraft. India is also planning to beef up its diplomatic mission in Pakistan.

The moves were of "little substance", Islamabad said. "In a situation where the Indian forces are massed on Pakistan's borders in a dangerous posture of confrontation, the Indian decisions do not address the main causes of tension," said the foreign ministry.

Speaking in Saudi Arabia, Gen Musharraf struck an equally gloomy note. "The situation will remain grim until we disengage on the border," he said."It is easing up, but as a military man I have to see both [possibilities]."

Despite some positive signs, a million men remain dug in on both sides of the line of control. India has said it will not pull its troops back until after crucial elections in Jammu and Kashmir in October.

Mr Rumsfeld is believed to have urged India yesterday to withdraw some of its aircraft and tanks from offensive forward positions.

Indian officials have poured cold water on a US-British proposal to send troops to monitor the disputed border. They seem more receptive to the idea of using remote sensors, which are apparently capable of detecting tiny movements. Whether it would be practical to install them across 1,800 miles of mountainous and often remote landscape remains to be seen.

Despite Mr Rumsfeld's mission, Indian and Pakistani forces yesterday continued to exchange fire. At least seven suspected militants were killed yesterday during a shootout with Indian security forces in Doda, 150 miles north of the Indian town of Jammu.