Ministers fear Kashmir dispute could spark riots in London

Ministers fear a war between India and Pakistan could spark riots on Britain's streets between Sikhs and Muslims.

A Cabinet committee on Thursday discussed measures for dealing with an outbreak of inter-community violence, if the two sides went to war.

"The possibility of violence between the two communities is one of our biggest worries," one minister confided.

But as the war of words reached new levels of bellicosity in India and Pakistan, the people of Green Street, Newham, east London, where people from both nations live, were showing more restraint.

Zulfikar Din, 34, owns four shops in the area, and is both the vice-chair of the Green Street Traders Association and a member of the Green Street Community Forum.

"People are paying a lot of attention to the current situation back home," said Mr Din, whose father moved to Britain from Pakistan in 1962. "My wife was thinking of going to Pakistan to visit her family for a holiday, but we've put it on hold until the situation over there has been resolved."

Speaking from one of his shops, DS Jewellers, Mr Din told of his concern for his relatives. "I have two brothers-in- law in the Pakistan navy, and they have been put on high risk ­ 24 hours' notice of action."

Mr Din employs staff from India and Pakistan, but says it hasn't affected working relationships at all.

"It's a political situation out there, not a social situation here," he said. "It's political posturing. The two sides are using Kashmir for their own political advantage. After 11 September, India lost face, and didn't like the fact that Pakistan's popularity increased by helping the Americans."

Babs Mahil, 36, runs Chiffons, a traditional Indian clothing store which boasts celebrity customers including Cherie Blair, Richard Branson and Britt Ekland.

"The situation really hasn't affected me," said Mrs Mahil. "In fact, I'm going to Bombay and Delhi next week. I don't think that there will be a war, but if there was, it would have repercussions in London ­ not only in terms of communities, but also businesses."

Ranveer Singh, 26, owns Stone City, a fashionable clothing store on Green Street. His family moved to England from India shortly before he was born.

"We're living in Britain and so it shouldn't really affect us," he said, "but you do watch it closely because it affects our family back home and our businesses.

"If there is a war, it will have definite effects here in terms of the segregation of people. Some groups will try to use it as an excuse for fighting between Indians and Pakistanis. It could easily happen, and that is a worry and a danger. Both sides are going to be losers, whatever happens."

Shaffiq Hussain, 40, runs the Himalaya Restaurant. He moved to Britain from Pakistan in 1985.

"Obviously this is going to affect our lives, it's our mother country," he said. "We don't like fighting each other: they are our neighbours.

"People around here are watching the situation very very carefully. We have seen attitudes changing because of this tension, and if war starts, these attitudes will rise more."

Kulvinder Singh Gill, 46, from the Punjab region of India, works at nearby Bharat Food Stores, and has lived in England for 21 years. His four sisters and mother live only 40 miles from Pakistan.

"My family feel insecure," he said. "It's all dirty politics, and we feel we can't trust anyone."

"Over here, it affects the youngsters," he said, referring to the Green Street area. "They are getting together in the parks and there is already some fighting between Pakistanis and Indians. If there is war, it will get a lot worse."