Pakistan: India preparing for war

Cross-border shelling has been reported in Kashmir

Pakistan military officials say India has made further preparations for war, by moving its eastern command to their common border.

This was a step which preceded previous conflicts in 1965 and 1971, and Pakistan says it may have to respond by redeploying troops from the Afghan border.

The Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, is holding talks with opposition parties in what appears to be a bid to enlist their support during the crisis.

The president urged President Musharraf to take additional strong, decisive measures to eliminate the extremists who seek to...provoke a war between India and Pakistan

White House spokesman

Concern over troop deployment sparked a late-night flurry of telephone conversations between Washington and Islamabad.

Pakistani officials say President Pervez Musharraf told the US Secretary of State, Colin Powell, about intelligence reports that Indian troops were being redeployed from Assam and Bengal to the Pakistani border.

Officials say President Bush then telephoned the Pakistani leader to urge restraint, followed by another call from Colin Powell.

Pakistani Information Ministry spokesman Anwar Mahmood said the latest reports of Indian troop movements were a clear signal that an attack could be coming.

There are reports that some Pakistani anti-aircraft guns and other forces have been redeployed from the Afghan border to the Indian border.

Talks ruled out

The Indian opposition has so far largely supported Mr Vajpayee, but some dissenting voices have been heard.

The Indian prime minister has ruled out talks with General Musharraf next week and says India is ready for "every eventuality".

The conflict is uprooting civilians

The two leaders are due to attend a regional summit in Nepal.

US officials say that in his call to the Pakistan leader, President Bush urged him to take "strong, decisive measures" against militants suspected of attacking India.

Tensions have escalated since the 13 December attack on the Indian parliament, which Delhi blamed on what it describes as Pakistan-sponsored terrorists.

Mr Bush told Mr Vajpayee that the United States was "determined to co-operate with India in the fight against terrorism".

Nuclear fears

Pakistan has warned that a minor provocation could escalate into an all-out war with India.

The two countries have ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said the use of such weapons should be "inconceivable".

But he warned that any "small action would trigger a chain of action and reaction, leading to a conflict that neither side desires".

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since 1947, two of them over disputed Kashmir, and came close to a fourth in 1999.