London: In a tight-rope walk ahead of his coming visit to New Delhi and Islamabad, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw on July 10 said that dismantling of terrorist camps by Pakistan and creation of a climate for Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir held the key to resolving Kashmir issue but asked India for more action to deal with Human Rights "deficit" in the state.

Straw told BBC News Online, "What progress can be made does depend on the realities on the ground and the key is an end to cross-border infiltration and then a climate in Jammu and Kashmir in which the elections can take place."

"On the Pakistani side, action to deal with the terrorist camps and on the Indian side more action to deal with the Human Rights deficit in Jammu and Kashmir were also essential," he added.

During the interview, Straw answered wide-ranging questions mostly pertaining to Kashmir, Britain's arms sale to India and Pakistan and other related issues.

Asked how could he convince the leadership of the two countries to resolve their conflict once and for all, and start working for the betterment of their people, the British Foreign Secretary said, "Like the United States, in this situation we have influence but we don't have power and that's quite proper because we are dealing with two very large sovereign states here."

"What we can do is to encourage both sides initially to take steps to de-escalate from the tension along the line of control (LoC) and then, over time, to encourage them to dialogue.

"In the end there can only be an agreement if India and Pakistan wills it. What we can do is try and create an environment in which that is easier," he said.

To a specific question on how to verify whether the cross-border terrorism has stopped at the LoC, Straw said, "There has been some progress. It is an inherently intrinsically difficult issue." He said that the verification has to fall to Indian and Pakistani forces with some assistance from outside because of the terrain and the danger.

"There may come a time when there is a ceasefire and there is a benign environment to monitor when there could be a role for the UN observers. Such an observer force requires the consent of both sides and at present that has not been forthcoming," he noted.

PTI