US denies Kashmir mediation role

The United States has denied a report that it has been sponsoring a secret diplomatic initiative to try to resolve the Kashmir dispute.

A State Department spokesman said the United States did not see itself as a mediator on Kashmir and had never had been involved in such activities there.

The report in the international defence publication, Jane's Intelligence Digest, suggested that Washington has been using an unnamed American Kashmiri to mediate between India and Pakistan.

Pakistan has also said it knows nothing about any initiative.

India has made no official comment, but correspondents point out that it has always rejected third-party mediation on the Kashmiri question.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service