Indian and Pakistani military forces have sought to avoid an escalation in tensions between the two nations in the aftermath of last week's attack in Mumbai by terrorists that Indian officials have said were trained in Pakistan, the Associated Press reported yesterday.
"Nobody is talking about military action" between the nuclear-armed rivals, Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said yesterday.
The reserved attitude has been remarkably different from a similar incident in 2002, when Muslim militants attacked India's parliament, AP reported. At that time, India threatened to attack camps in Pakistan, and both nations sent troops to the long-disputed Kashmir region (see GSN, May 7, 2003).
The Mumbai violence, however, had a more international flavor because 19 foreigners were among the nearly 200 killed, said a former Indian diplomat who argued that India would be pressured to conduct a thorough, credible investigation into the attacks (Ravi Nessman, Associated Press/Google News, Dec. 2).
Therefore, the two nations' armed forces have remained quiet, Agence France-Presse reported.
"Militarily, the temperature is pretty low right now," a U.S. military official said yesterday. "On the nuclear side, nothing at all."
"The Indians have showed great restraint, militarily. As a matter of fact, no change (in posture)," the official said. "There is diplomatic activity and political activity. That is where it is happening right now" (Agence France-Presse I/Google News, Dec. 2).
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to arrive today in New Delhi to help relieve stress between India and Pakistan, according to AFP.
"I want to consult with the Indian government on what we can do to help," she told reporters. "Everyone should cooperate fully and Pakistan needs to cooperate fully and transparently."
"We are going to work with the Indians and whatever points in the direction of Pakistani territory, we are going to work with the Pakistanis too," added an official traveling with Rice. "The fact that the U.S. is involved with both sides in identifying and going after terrorist groups can help them to cooperate" (Agence France-Presse II/Spacewar.com, Dec. 3).