Associated Press

New Delhi, April 20

India today asked Pakistan to deal sternly with Islamic separatist militants who have threatened to disrupt cross-border movement of people and trade in the disputed Kashmir.

Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who met over the weekend with Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf to discuss ways to ease tensions between the two nations, said Islamic separatists in Kashmir could derail the new dialogue.

“The threat to the peace process from extremist forces and terrorist organizations has not been eliminated.” Singh said in a statement to Parliament on Musharraf’s visit to India.

“I mentioned to President Musharraf that the whole process of serious and sustained dialogue hinges on building an atmosphere of trust, free from violence and terror,” Singh said.

Meanwhile, a report from Islamabad quoted Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani as urging India to withdraw troops from its part of divided Kashmir, saying any such move by New Delhi would have a “very positive impact” on the peace process between the two nations.