ASIAN people in Bolton have been speaking about their fears for relatives living in the disputed border province of Kashmir.

Many of the 20,000-plus Indians and Pakistanis in the town have become concerned after watching the situation in the disputed state escalate.

The Indian Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, has told his soldiers to prepare for a decisive fight and Pakistan has warned it will retaliate if there is military action.

Mumumtaz Chifhty, a British Kashmiri, is president of Bolton's Kashmiri Worker and Welfare Union. He is worried because he has family, including brothers and sisters, who live just 40 miles outside the state in the town of Kotli in Pakistan.

"I have spoken to a lot of people in Bolton and everyone is worried," he said. "Innocent people are already being killed and we fear a lot of people who live near the border will suffer."

Mr Chifhty is concerned that fighting could damage the Mangla Dam, one of the biggest in the world, which could affect his relatives who live nearby.

He also said that although there were tensions in Pakistan and India, he was happy there would be no trouble between the two communities in Bolton.

"We all know there is no need to break the peace here," he said.

The sentiment was endorsed by Sudhirbhai Merai, a representative on the Bolton Hindu Forum.

He said: "There is nothing we can do to solve the problems in Kashmir. All we can do is to continue to live happily together in Bolton and tackle local issues that affect us here."

HOW THE DISPUTE BEGAN

THE problems in Kashmir began many years ago. The British sold the state to a Hindu prince in 1846, but when the subcontinent gained independence in 1947 it was allowed to decide which country it would join.

The Kashmiri maharajah, Hari Singh, tried to hold out for independence, but then agreed to join India. A referendum was supposed to be held to allow the people to choose between India and Pakistan, but it never happened.

There were battles in 1965 and 1972 and India now controls two-thirds of the land. China seized a sparsely populated piece of land in 1962.