India Rejects Us Offer To Mediate On Kashmir

India yesterday rejected a US offer to mediate to end Kashmir border clashes with Pakistan, and said differences with Islamabad should be resolved in bilateral talks.

We have seen the press reports relating to a possible US interest in mediation, a foreign ministry spokesman told Reuters. There is absolutely no question of mediation by third parties in India-Pakistan issues.

A senior state department official in Washington said on Monday that the US would be willing to mediate to end Kashmir border clashes between India and Pakistan, if invited by the two countries to do so.

The US official, who did not want to be identified, said it was a long-standing offer over the two countries Kashmir dispute.

India says its differences with Pakistan must be worked out in bilateral talks, but Islamabad wants Kashmiris to decide in a UN-mandated plebiscite whether to join the Islamic Pakistan or the Hindu-majority India.

It has been our consistent policy that matters between us should be resolved through bilateral talks, the Indian foreign ministry spokesman said.

Meanwhile, Indian and Pakistani troops continued to exchange low-intensity firing in Uri, Kupwara, Rajouri and Poonch sectors for the fifth consecutive day even as the situation along the line of control was stated to be well under control.

The intensity of firing in Uri and Kupwara sectors in Kashmir valley has come down since Monday with Indian and Pakistani troops continuing only intermittent exchange of fire, a defence spokesman at Udhampur said. The situation along the line of control and international borders stretching from Kathua to Kargil was well under control, he said.

Indian troops, in a retaliatory action, had fired eight 115 mm shells against Pakistani firing in Uri sector till midday yesterday. But there was no casualty, defence sources in Srinagar said.

These sectors, along with Kargil, witnessed a heavy exchange of artillery and mortar fire between Indian and Pakistani troops since August 22, killing more than 70 Pak troops, two Indian army personnel and three civilians.

Meanwhile in the valley, thirty passengers were injured, two of them seriously, when a land-mine explosion set off by militants ripped through a bus in central Kashmirs Budgam district yesterday

Official sources said that the land mine was targetted at a security personnel vehicle which had passed the passenger bus earlier. Elsewhere, 19 people including six civilians and two security personnel were killed while four militants were arrested and a large quantity of weapons and ammunition has been seized since Monday evening. Police picked up a body of a person in Kulgam in south Kashmir yesterday. According to an official spokesman, the deceased was kidnapped last night.