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Straw to visit India, Pakistan

By Hasan Suroor

LONDON JULY 4. The British Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, is to visit India and Pakistan later this month as part of Britain's diplomatic efforts to facilitate normalisation of relations between the two nuclear neighbours. No dates have been fixed for the visit, which would also include talks in Hong Kong and China.

A Foreign Office spokesman said the visit was intended to "continue the process of dialogue'' with India and Pakistan. "We welcome the lowering of tensions between the two countries but it is important that the international community remains engaged,'' he told The Hindu. Describing Britain's relations with India as "excellent,'' he reiterated his support for India's concern over cross-border infiltration.

This would be Mr. Straw's third visit to the region following the alarming rise in Indo-Pak. tensions in the recent months. Britain has been consistently sympathetic to the Indian anxieties over Pakistan-supported militancy in Kashmir but, at the same time, has maintained that India must recognise that there is a dispute in Kashmir and it must be settled.

Mr. Straw said in a BBC interview recently that Kashmir was "unfinished'' business, and that at the time of Indian Independence it was not settled who would "run'' the State.

The British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, has also underlined the urgency of resolving the Kashmir dispute. He told Parliament a few weeks ago that while it was important that Pakistan stop all forms of terrorism, India too must respond by agreeing to a dialogue on all issues, including Kashmir.

But, recognising Indian sensitivities on foreign intervention, Britain has maintained that it is for India and Pakistan to resolve the issue though London was willing to assist them if the two sides sought its help. Mr. Straw enjoyed a personal rapport with the former External Affairs Minister, Jaswant Singh, and observers said it would be interesting to see whether he was able to strike a similar "chemistry'' with his new Indian counterpart, Yashwant Sinha.

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