NEW DELHI, September 8 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - The United States is talking to Pakistan to ensure Indian-organized elections in the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir are violence-free, a senior U.S. official said.

In an interview with the Hindu newspaper published Sunday, September 8, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said the United States was "supporting full, free, fair and open elections in Kashmir."

"And we are talking with our Pakistani friends making sure that these elections are held free of violence," Armitage said.

He said Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf - currently embarked on a trip to the U.S. to speak with Bush and address the United Nations - had told him that he condemned violence during the Kashmir elections, which are taking place in four phases beginning on September 16, although Pakistan does not support the elections.

Armitage added that some people in Pakistan were "furious that we were promoting open, free and fair elections [in Kashmir]."

He said it was positive that both India and Pakistan said they "appreciated the good offices of the U.S." and wanted them to continue.

The United States was at the forefront of a global diplomatic effort to pull India and Pakistan back from the brink of war earlier this year.

Tensions between India and Pakistan rose sharply after an Islamic militant attack on India's parliament complex last December by gunmen New Delhi claims were sponsored by Islamabad.

India accuses Pakistan of arming, funding and training “militants” battling New Delhi's rule in Indian Kashmir, a charge Islamabad denies.

More than 36,500 people have died in Indian Kashmir since the beginning of the Muslim insurgency in 1989.

Tensions ebbed a little in June, when Indian officials said Armitage had conveyed a promise from Islamabad that it would shut down what New Delhi calls "militant training camps in Pakistan-administered Kashmir" and end "cross-border terrorism in Kashmir."

New Delhi has since said that Pakistan has not acted on these promises.

Armitage said the Indian government had also said that violence-free elections in Kashmir could possibly lead to dialogue with Pakistan.

"We are just trying to work on both sides through this elections right now; to get through them as violence-free as possible."

He said Washington's successes in Afghanistan had "created conditions in which we may eventually have a better Pakistan".

"A more stable Pakistan that will then create the conditions that will further alleviate the ability of terrorists to attack your citizens," he added.