US does not fear Pak-India war: Condoleezza Rice

Washington, Dec 13: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that her country does not believe that Pakistan and India will go to war in the wake of the Mumbai terror attacks, and is not fearful about that prospect should it take place.

Speaking in an interview with CNBC TV, Rice said Washington is playing its role in asing tensions between the South Asian neighbours. She said the US has asked Islamabad to "act forcefully in the dangerous situation."

"I heard no bellicose talk from either of these governments. I heard instead a very deep concern to deal with the situation. Fortunately, we're in a little bit better situation than we were in 2001-2002," the Daily Times quoted her as telling CNBC.

"I think the Indians rightly were concerned to make sure that the perpetrators were brought to justice, and that follow-on attacks were prevented," she added.

She said that she undertook the trip to Pakistan to emphasize that Islamabad must act on terror, and prevent Pakistani soil being used by so-called non-state actors.

"We have seen the problems that the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan create for stability in Afghanistan, as well as for stability in Pakistan ... I think we've seen in Mumbai that the terrorism problem then in Pakistan becomes a problem for India, and so on and so on. So I would point to these ungoverned regions," she said.

ANI