US worried over strained India, Pakistan ties

NEW DELHI: The diplomatic channels between India and the US and Pakistan and the US have been buzzing in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks. US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice is regular touch with external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee.

The US is clearly worried that the current war of words between India and Pakistan will escalate into a confrontation that will further destabilise the region. Media reports from Washington said that US president George W Bush held a video-teleconference with Ms Rice, US ambassador to India David C Mulford, consul general at the US consulate in Mumbai Paul Folmsbee and members of his national security team on the Mumbai terror attack and its diplomatic fallout.

However, the US, which has continued to launch unilateral military strikes against terror targets in Pakistan, does not need convincing about the role of Pakistani elements in the Mumbai attacks.

Sources said that US intelligence had warned India about a possible attack on Mumbai by Pakistan-based terrorists. An FBI team is also in Mumbai trying to help investigators piece together the terror plot. Sources said that one of the main tasks is to identify the antecedents of the terrorists.

Even though the UPA government is facing criticism from Opposition parties to take tough action against Pakistan, the government, after the initial tough talk, is yet to respond to Islamabad���s refusal to send the ISI chief to India.

The government, sources said, is calibrating its response and will take a decision on the future of the Indo-Pak engagement and the composite dialogue process depending on the outcome of the investigations into the Mumbai attack. Till Sunday evening, sources said, no decision was taken.

As per schedule, India���s Indus Water Commissioner left for Islamabad on Saturday to take part in the Chenab water talks.

The ministry of external affairs was also quick to deny reports, which originated in the Pakistani media, that the government here is looking at increasing troops along the Indo-Pak border that could immediately lead to an escalation of tension between the two neighbours.

The MEA also denied that there was a rethink on continuing with the cease-fire and the composite dialogue process. ���All this is incorrect,��� said MEA official spokesperson Vishnu Prakash.