A White House statement said the meeting was arranged following a telephone conversation between the two leaders, in which they agreed the situation in the disputed territory had deteriorated to a dangerous level - and could escalate if not quickly resolved.

Washington has repeatedly asked the two countries to show restraint and President Clinton has even asked Mr Sharif to use his influence to withdraw the militants from the area.

Heavy artillery is supporting India's latest push

But so far, Pakistan has maintained that it has no role in the fighting and has been calling the militants Kashmiri freedom fighters.

On Saturday, an Indian army colonel said his forces had recovered weapons and equipment that indicated the involvement of Pakistani regular forces alongside the militants.

Mr Clinton has also spoken by telephone with the Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee.

Owen Bennett Jones reports: "For the moment, the stalemate continues"

Pakistan has offered to hold talks with India on the crisis.

But Delhi has ruled out further meetings with Islamabad until the withdrawal of what India says are Pakistani-backed infiltrators who have crossed the "line of control" which divides Kashmir.

Indian authorities say that parliamentary elections in the state of Jammu and Kashmir will be held along with the rest of the country as planned in September.

Fierce fighting

India says its troops have been pushing infiltrators back towards the line of control.

(Click here to see a map of the area)

India has reportedly deployed commandos specially trained in mountain warfare as part of a weekend assault to recapture a key summit.

The BBC's Daniel Lak: "Fears of a wider conflict, perhaps even a nuclear war, appear to have receded somewhat"

India's Defence Minister George Fernandes said the offensive was succeeding and the infiltrators would be expelled within a week.

At least three battalions of commandos are reported to be edging towards positions in the Tiger Hills from where the infiltrators have been shelling the Srinagar-Leh highway.

The Indian forces are backed by artillery fire from some 140 Bofors 155mm guns, pounding the infiltrators entrenched in bunkers on the 15,140ft (4,950m) peak.

An Indian army spokesman, Colonel Bikram Singh, said the opposing forces were able to sustain their defences more easily with supplies and reinforcements close at hand.

Indian troops have been trying to push back the infiltrators for more than seven weeks now.

The spokesman said 23 Indian soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours, compared with 24 of their opponents. According to some reports, 17 of the Indian casualties were sustained in a single action.