India, Pak tread lightly after Mumbai attack

Demands for action are being heard across India amid the anger over last week's rampage in Mumbai by militants accused of coming from Pakistan, but leaders of the two nuclear-armed neighbors are striving to keep tensions in check. Neither country has the appetite for a fourth war in six decades, and both sides seem to be hoping that US diplomacy _ expected to intensify with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's arrival in India on Wednesday _ will defuse the situation, analysts said. ``Nobody is talking about military action,'' Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said Tuesday, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. Indian officials blamed the banned Pakistani extremist group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the attack, which killed 172 people and paralyzed India's financial capital for three days. The Indian government called on Pakistani authorities to take strong action against those responsible and to hand over suspected terrorists believed living in Pakistan. But India stopped short of accusing Pakistan's government of any involvement, a charge it has not hesitated to make in the past. Rice also is urging Pakistan to cooperate fully, saying: ``This is a time for absolute transparency and for letting the evidence lead where it may.'' Pakistan's leadership seems to be taking steps to comply with the demands for cooperation. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi offered Tuesday to establish a joint investigation with India and said his government wanted to continue the peace process that began in 2004 and was broadened this year to include cooperation in the fight against terror groups. ``Terrorists must not be allowed to undo the gains made. We are convinced that continuation of the peace process ... is in the larger interest of the people of the two countries,'' Qureshi said. ``If tension between India and Pakistan is defused this time again, it will be because of American influence behind the scenes,'' Rais said. ``I think if India does not consider that kind of mediation, that means it is preparing for a war.'' There is intense pressure on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to take action, and if Pakistan does not offer substantive cooperation he may have little choice, said Mohan, the analyst. ``After what happened in Mumbai no prime minister in India can sit back on his hands,'' Mohan said. ``The ball is in the Pakistani court.''