Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

DATE=12-26-2001

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

NUMBER=2-284648 (CQ)

TITLE=US / INDIA-PAK (L-UPDATE)

BYLINE=DAVID GOLLUST

DATELINE=STATE DEPARTMENT

VOICED AT:

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INTRO: The United States is calling for restraint by India and Pakistan, which have exchanged gunfire and built up forces along their border in a crisis sparked by the terror attack on the Indian parliament two weeks ago. Secretary of State Colin Powell made telephone appeals to both sides Wednesday. V-O-A's David Gollust reports from the State Department.

TEXT: The confrontation between India and Pakistan is of mounting concern to the Bush administration, as reflected in a series of telephone appeals to leaders of both countries by Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Spokesman Philip Reeker said Mr. Powell spoke twice during the day with both Pakistani President Pervez Musharaff and Indian Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh.

He said Mr. Powell's message is that a resort to full-scale conflict in South Asia will achieve nothing:

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We believe it's critically important that there be a lessening of tensions between India and Pakistan. And we've been encouraging such a development and we'll continue to encourage that. Any conflict between the two countries can have no good result for either country. As we've said many times before, they need to resolve their differences through dialogue.

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Mr. Powell has spoken to the Pakistani President at least once in each of the last three days in a diplomatic effort since late last week t hat has also included calls to, among others, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

Earlier Wednesday, the Secretary of State announced that he was adding the U-S list of foreign terrorist groups the two Pakistan-based Kashmiri factions Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed -- blamed by India for the attack on the parliament.

In a written statement, he said the two groups though claiming to support the Kashmiri people are seeking to assault democracy, undermine peace and stability in South Asia, and destroy India-Pakistan relations.

The terrorist designation bars Americans from providing material support to the groups, requires U-S banks to block any assets held by them, and allows U-S immigration officials to deny visas to the groups' members.

Though the U-S move supports India's case in the attack, the State Department also praised President Musharaff, who has been a key partner in the U-S war against terrorism.

Spokesman Reeker said Mr. Musharaff's support for U-S action in Afghanistan came despite domestic opposition and required courage on his part, and said the administration is "confident" he'll continue to show leadership in the terrorism fight.

An official here listed a series of tangible steps by Mr. Musharaff including a freeze on the assets of the two groups blamed by India and curbs on fund-raising and recruiting by several radical factions.

In his statement adding Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to the terrorist list, Secretary Powell said he looked forward to working with both the Indian and Pakistani government to, in his words, "shut these groups down." (Signed)

NEB/DAG