U.S. envoy sees tensions easing in India, Pakistan border stan

NEW DELHI, India -- Pakistani jets shot down an unmanned Indian spy plane late Friday, Pakistan's military said, shortly after a U.S. envoy declared tensions between the two nations had eased but not enough to eliminate the threat of war.

An air force statement released in Islamabad, Pakistan, said the plane was shot down about 11 p.m. and crashed near the town of Raja Jang south of Lahore, Pakistan's second largest city.

Government spokesman Maj. Gen. Rashid Quereshi said the incident was the latest example of India's "complete disregard" for "international norms."

Quereshi said Pakistan wanted a decrease in tensions "but if Indian aggression is launched, Pakistan will defend itself."

The developments contrasted with Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage's assessment of cautious optimism as he met earlier in the evening with Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, a day after he saw Pakistan's president in Islamabad.

But a key stumbling block remained.

Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf has acknowledged the need for a long-term end to cross-border attacks in disputed Kashmir, Armitage told the Indians.

"That's something we hope to see translated into action," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao told reporters. "We need to check whether this is a credible assurance."

While saying tensions had lessened, Armitage gave no hint of a breakthrough on his mission to try to defuse the potential conflict on the subcontinent.

"Tensions are a little bit down," he said. "I feel very good about the discussions in India. If tensions are high, there is always a risk of war. Until that situation is changed, there will be the risk."

Vajpayee did not appear before reporters with Armitage.

Meanwhile, the top U.S. military officer, Air Force Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States has plans to reposition American troops now operating in and around Pakistan in the event war breaks out between India and Pakistan. Myers declined to discuss details of the plan, which had not been implemented Friday.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since gaining independence from Britain in 1947, two of them over Kashmir. The latest war threat broke out in December when Islamic extremists staged a deadly attack on India's Parliament building in New Delhi.