Schröder in India

The German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder is in India on the second leg of a tour that will take him to China on Tuesday.

Schröder said his trip will focus on trying to build up support in Delhi for the US-led military campaign against terrorism. Schröder will also attempt to urge India to take up negotiations with Pakistan on their conflict over Kashmir.

The German Chancellor's first stop was Pakistan, where he praised President Pervez Musharraf's support for the US anti-terrorism campaign. Schröder promised aid, investment, and debt relief for Pakistan.

Answering critics of the US-led attacks on Afghanistan, he said it would be harder to find a political solution to the country's problems if the campaign was suspended.

Musharraf, however, expressed hopes that the conflict would be short and would not lead into the holy month of Ramadam. He said Pakistan would not accept a long war involving considerable civilian casualties.

Defence Secretary Rumsfeld, however, would not rule out the continuation of the campaign into Ramadam. "Muslim countries have fought during Ramadam from day one, and the Northern Alliance and the Taliban fought over a period years over Ramdam," he said.

Rumsfeld stressed the fact that the US had a task of defending their country and would do just that.

Before meeting with India's Prime Minister Atal Vajpayee, Schröder suggested that German and Indian leaders should hold annual meetings to strengthen ties between the two countries.

Chancellor Schröder has also been addressing the growing Afghan refugee crisis. His visit to Pakistan coincided with a trip to the country by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Ruud Lubbers.

The UNHCR is trying to persuade Islamabad to open its border to thousands of displaced people massed along the Afghan side of the frontier. Pakistan has repeatedly said it already has 2.5 million refugees and cannot accept any more.

Chancellor Schröder said he had promised German aid to help cope with the crisis.

"Of course we've offered to cooperate with the United Nations, to offer concrete support. There is, thank God, growing concensus that neighbouring states must at least make it possible for organisations to reach and care for the displaced inside Afghanistan. Pakistan will do that. It must be organised by the UN and will be. No one else has the knowledge and the authority to do it. I hope that we'll soon make progress. We're ready to help generously," he said.