Japan on Tuesday said ''heightening'' of tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir was a matter of concern as this has ''negative effect'' on the stability of South Asia and urged the two countries to exercise ''maximum'' restraint. ''Japan hopes that New Delhi and Islamabad will resolve the Kashmir issue through peaceful bilateral dialogue,'' Yoshiro Mori, former Japanese premier and special envoy of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, said. Mori, who held wide-ranging discussions with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said ''heightening of tension in Kashmir is a matter of concern which poses negative effect on the stability of South Asia''.
The Japanese leader who also held talks with Home Minister L K Advani and Defence Minister George Fernandes, said ''maximum restraint should be exercised by both India and Pakistan''.
The Japanese side-stepped a pointed question whether Tokyo believed that Pakistan is sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of India, saying ''there has been much talk about it. We do not know. Terrorism cannot be tolerated. We condemn all sorts of terrorism''.
''We should focus on what we do rather than where it comes from,'' Mori, whose remarks in Japanese were simultaneously translated, said. Bureau Report