WASHINGTON, Nov. 11 —Alarmed by what one official described as a “dramatic escalation of fighting” along the Indian‐Pakistani border in the last few days, the United States has called on the two sides to avoid all‐out war.
Joseph J. Sisco, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, summoned the Indian and Pakistani Ambassadors to the State Department yesterday to express the Nixon Administration's heightened concern.
“Mr. Sisco urged both sides to take such steps as they could to defuse the situation,” Charles W. Bray 3d, the State Department spokesman, told reporters today.
The American appeal was prompted by cables received early yesterday from United States representatives in India and Pakistan expressing concern about the upsurge in fighting.
‘Sharp Deterioration’
“Our reports indicate a very sharp deterioration of the military situation in the last four to five days,” an official said.
He added that the American assessment of the prospects of an Indian‐Pakistani war was “measurably snore pessimistic” than it was last week, when Mrs. Indira Gandhi, the Indian Prime Minister, was here for talks with President Nixon.
Mr. Bray, in answering questions of the daily departmental briefing, avoided specific description of the fighting, for fear, he said, of “complicating a complex and potentially quite serious situation on the subcontinent.”
He also said that the United States was carefully watching the reports of accelerating military activity.
It was the second time the spokesman had publicly expressed concern over the situation on the subcontinent. On Oct. 23, Mr. Bray urged both sides to show restraint and said that the United States was acting in concert with other nations in practicing a form of “protective diplomacy” to prevent an outbreak of fighting.
Both India and Pakistan have reported repeated incidents between their respective armed forces at various points along the border with East Pakistan.
Border Crossing Reported
Last Sunday The New York Times reported that Indian troops crossed into East Pakistan on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 to silence Pakistani guns that had been shelling Indian territory. The clash had reportedly been preceded by 11 continuous days of Pakistani artillery shelling near the border town of Kamalpur, in the northern part of Tripura, Territory, northeastern India.
Meanwhile, United States intelligence sources confirmed today that heavy shipments of Soviet arms were on the way, to India by sea. Three Soviet, merchant ships reportedly lefts the Black Sea last week on their way to India with more than 5,000 tons of Soviet military equipment.
One ship had eight aircraft crates lashed to its deck, the [sources said. Details about the rest of the cargo were not known.
In addition, the last of 10 heavy Soviet transport planes landed at New Delhi on Nov. 3, according to American intelligence. The planes were believed to be carrying spare parts for military equipment previously supplied by the Russians.
The new shipments are thought to be the result of recent visits to India by high-ranking Soviet diplomatic and military officials. Last August, the two countries signed a 20‐ year treaty of friendship and cooperation.
The Nixon Administration has suspended arms sales to Pakistan in the face of mounting Congressional pressure. Last Monday, the State Department announced the cancellation of about $3‐million in export licenses for military equipment to Pakistan.
At the same time, Pakistan has turned to China for arms assistance. A high‐level Pakistani, delegation returned from Peking on Monday, reporting that its mission had achieved “tangible results.”