After US Secretary of State Colin Powell, it was the turn of his deputy Richard Armitage to say that  Kashmir is the 'most dangerous place in the world'.

"There are a lot of other dangerous parts in the  world. Kashmir comes to mind," Armitage said in response to a specific question after his lecture at the Asia Society AustralAsia Centre in Sydney on Wednesday, attended among others by Indian High Commissioner to Australia R S Rathore. Armitage made the comment while talking about the progress in the roadmap to peace in West Asia and danger spots in the world.

Rathore later said he was surprised at Armitage's reference to Kashmir being a  'hot spot'. "Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has already taken several initiatives in improving relations with Pakistan," he said. "Elections have been held in Jammu and Kashmir and civilian authority and civilian life is functioning normally. However, we do get occasional terrorist attacks, aided and  abetted from across the border."

In October 2001, US Secretary of State Colin Powell had said the same thing, sparking off angry protests from India.

 Indo-Pak peace talks: complete coverage