Washington: A warning by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that Pakistan continues to support terrorist groups in Jammu and Kashmir and that the cycles of tension between India and Pakistan are growing shorter forms the backdrop of the forthcoming visit of US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage to India and Pakistan.

"Pakistan continues to support groups that resist India's presence in Kashmir in an effort to bring India to the negotiating table," CIA director George Tenet said in a recent speech before the Senate Intelligence Committee now on the CIA web.

He said even though India's recent military redeployment away from the border reduced the danger of imminent war, the underlying cause of tension is unchanged. "The cycles of tension between India and Pakistan are growing shorter.

"Indian frustration with continued terrorist attacks, most of which it attributes to Pakistan, causes New Delhi to reject any suggestion that it resume a dialogue with Islamabad," Tenet said.

Without progress on resolving Indo-Pakistan differences, said Tenet, "any dramatic provocation – like 2001's terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament by Kashmir militants – runs a high risk of sparking another major military deployment". Armitage is expected to visit India and Pakistan shortly.

PTI