Islamabad: The US would be helpful but not play a central role in resolving the Kashmir issue which "essentially" is a matter that has to be settled between India and Pakistan, Secretary of State Colin Powell said today (March 18, 2004).

Powell, who held wide-ranging talks with Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, also observed that "incidents" along the Line of Control (LoC) have come down significantly and the situation must continue after snow melts on the hills of Kashmir.

"Ceasefire at the LoC has been holding and everybody acknowledges that the incident level has gone down significantly, that is good. We must keep it there, particularly after the snow melts," Powell, who is here in the final leg of his three-nation South Asian tour, told PTV after his talks with the Pakistani leadership.

He declined to get into differences between India and Pakistan over terming Kashmir a core issue. "Kashmir issue is the one that has been a problem between the two countries for over 50 years. It is a problem that they ultimately have to solve. I hope that the process that has been initiated by Prime Minister (Atal Behari) Vajpayee and President General Pervez Musharraf on January 6 will lead to solutions."

Earlier, addressing a joint press conference with Kasuri, Powell said the Kashmir issue was "essentially a matter that has to be solved between the two sides or it will not be resolved in a satisfactory way".

Referring to the Indo-Pak dialogue process, he said, "At any point in this dialogue where we can be helpful, we will be helpful."