Senior US official visits South Asia

US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca isin India at the start of her visit to South Asia.

Her visit comes a week after the leaders of India and Pakistan had talks in Agra which collapsed when they couldn't agree on a joint declaration.

Speaking in Washington on the eve of her visit, Mrs Rocca said the United States considered the Agra talks a success because they had happened at all.

She is also due to visit Nepal and Pakistan.

Ms Rocca will be the first senior official of the Bush administration to visit Pakistan and she has indicated that she will press for political reforms.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service