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http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/st...182894,00.html?

WASHINGTON - Top Bush administration officials, including Secretary of State Colin Powell or his deputy Richard Armitage, may fly down to South Asia within the next fortnight amid growing concern in Washington that the situation in the region is taking a turn for the worse.

The Times of India reported yesterday that despite its preoccupation with the Iraq crisis, the rhetoric from the subcontinent has rung alarm bells in Washington - particularly after Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said Pakistan was a fit case for pre-emptive action along the same lines as the US strike on Iraq.

His statement triggered 'frantic' inquiries from the Bush administration, the daily said. To which New Delhi clarified that the statements were 'rhetorical' in nature.

But it also added that the Indian government was under pressure to act 'on infiltrations and violence inspired by Pakistan', referring to India's stand that Pakistan supports guerillas in Indian-controlled areas of Kashmir.

The 'blunt' message from India, the Times said, raised ripples in Washington and senior US administration officials tried to temper the situation.

In statements made to the media, they conveyed to New Delhi that the United States does not see the need for India to take any military action and promised greater American involvement in resolving tensions.

In an interview on Pakistan's state-run television on Thursday, Mr Powell said: 'we do have a very difficult and dangerous situation with respect to actions across the Line of Control.'

He also refined earlier US statement about the dissimilarity between US action in Iraq and India's threat of pre-emptive action against Pakistan, saying he did not think there was a 'direct parallel' to the two situations.

But he also promised that the US would stay engaged in the region and it did not 'believe there is a need now for any military action of any kind'.

'We are looking to help the two parties resolve this in a peaceful way, and you can be sure that I will personally remain engaged, as will President Bush and members of his administration,' Mr Powell said.

Indian officials have stepped up accusations that, contrary to assurances he gave the US last spring, Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf has been giving free rein to militants fighting to end Indian rule in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir.

While India has made such charges before, it has lately begun to draw parallels to the US-led invasion of Iraq.

The Times of India said a stream of US officials, leading with Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca and followed by other high-level officials, were likely to make a beeline for the region.

It said they would renew pressure on Pakistan to stop infiltration across the border and convince India to re-open dialogue with its nuclear-armed neighbour.