US general to visit India

The chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Henry Shelton, leaves Washington for Delhi on Wednesday for a visit that is intended to forge closer military ties with India.

It is the highest level US military visit since India conducted an underground nuclear test in 1998, and correspondents say it is intended to overcome worries about nuclear instability in the Indian subcontinent as well as to act as a counter against China.

Both India and Pakistan have been subjected to US military sanctions for their tit-for-tat nuclear tests three years ago, but correspondents say the new US administration sees the sanctions against India as counterproductive.

A spokesman for General Shelton says scheduling difficulties have prevented him visiting Pakistan.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service