"I'm not going to talk about nuclear weapons. I think the elevation of that subject (nuclear confrontation) is past us. Both of those (Indian and Pakistani) leaders are managing their affairs as people responsible for weapons of that power," he said.

Rumsfeld made his remarks to reporters on board the plane flying him back to Washington from Islamabad. His plane made a refueling stop in Bahrain.

But the defense secretary, who was in New Delhi before Islamabad, warned that the situation could slip back if India and Pakistan did not continue making progress toward easing tensions.

He suggested the nuclear-armed rivals could begin by restraining artillery fire across the Line of Control that divides disputed Kashmir and opening channels of communication.

"If firing were dropped down to zero and was used only for the purpose of self-defense or stopping infiltrations, (that) would begin the process of easing some of the lingering hostilities," Rumsfeld said.

He said one of the "easy" things that could be done now that both New Delhi and Islamabad "don't favor infiltration across the Line (of Control)" would be to have "some sort of an understanding that it's always proper to fire (only) in self-defense."

Rumsfeld expressed concern, however, that with elections coming up in both countries, it may be difficult to maintain momentum toward an easing of tension.

"I have a sense that there is that risk and it's worth recognizing that," he said.

Rumsfeld likened the situation to a heavily loaded wagon going uphill which would begin to slip back if it stopped.

"As you move toward election periods in both countries, there will be pressures with the parties and between parties to do or say things. In my view, that temptation has to be balanced against the wagon image," he said.

"If you're coasting and you're not making progress, you're not doing something, it is not getting better, you very likely are in a situation where it may be getting worse," he added.

Speaking in Islamabad earlier Thursday, Rumsfeld expressed hope that India and Pakistan would in time ease their forces off high alert but said both sides needed to find ways to talk to each other.

After meeting with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf, a day after talks with Indian leaders in Delhi, Rumsfeld praised the leaders of both South Asian countries for taking steps to defuse tensions over Kashmir.

He also suggested that the stress of maintaining troops on high alert on the border would bring about a further de-escalation.

There were further hopeful signs Thursday in New Delhi, which accuses Islamabad of fomenting a 13-year-old Kashmiri insurgency, with an official saying troops would be pulled back from the Pakistan border when India is satisfied extremists are not sneaking across the Line of Control.

India has made a number of conciliatory gestures this week, including reopening its airspace to Pakistani flights, ordering warships to pull back from waters off Pakistan and making arrangements to send a high commissioner back to Islamabad.

All rights reserved. � 2002 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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