Following his meetings with Indian leaders including Defense Minister George Fernandes, National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra and Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal, Armitage told a press conference that the US would do whatever it could to reduce violence in Kashmir.

"I can assure you that extraordinary attention is being paid by my government to this issue. We are going to stay at it and continue to use our good offices" to ease tensions between India and Pakistan, he said.

Armitage, who is on his second visit to South Asian in months, told the media that Washington was also concerned over the possibility of violence during the forthcoming elections in India-controlled Kashmir.

He would discuss the issue with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf when he visits Islamabad on Saturday.

There is no sign of any breakthrough in his efforts to convince Indian leaders to resume the deadlocked dialogue with Pakistan and withdraw its troops from the border, deployed last December following an attack on the Indian parliament.

A spokesperson of India's External Affairs Ministry said that Indian leaders conveyed to the US official that Pakistan was trying to push in militants to India-controlled side of Kashmir to disrupt planned elections in the area.

During talks with Armitage, Indian leaders ruled out resumption of dialogue with Islamabad unless it implemented its pledges to "end cross-border terrorism permanently."

"There is no question of dialogue till cross-border terrorism ends," said the National Security Advisor at the press conference.

On elections in Kashmir, Armitage said his country wanted to see the poll to be "free, fair and open."

He described as "significant" New Delhi's gestures to have a dialogue with the All Party Hurriyat Conference, a multi-party forum in Kashmir.

Armitage, who arrived here Friday morning from Colombo in yet another attempt to ease Indo-Pakistan tensions, held a 45-minute meeting with Fernandes which was followed by two-hour talks with Foreign Secretary and extensive talks with Mishra, which also lasted for two hours.

The meetings were substantially focused on bilateral relations and regional and international security issues, the spokesperson of the External Affairs Minister said in a press briefing.

The two sides also discussed the situation in Sri Lanka as well as the latest developments in the Gulf in the special context of Iraq and Iran.

Earlier, Armitage told reporters after his meeting with leaders of the Confederation of Indian Industry that Washington was keen to strengthen economic relations with India.

This is his second trip to South Asian since last June when he visited New Delhi and Islamabad following two separate terror attacks in May in India-controlled Kashmir, which killed 34 people and pushed India and Pakistan again on the brink of war.

(People?s Daily August 24, 2002)