Pak should keep on working to 'really deal' with terror: Rice

Washington, Dec 20 (PTI) Insisting that the steps taken
by Pakistan in the wake of the Mumbai attacks are "not nearly
enough", the US has advised it to keep on working to "really
deal" with terrorism to help ease the "crisis" with India.

Neither India nor Pakistan wanted to escalate tensions
and "no one was speaking in belligerent language", Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice said at a function here.

"And if Pakistan continues to work to really deal with
the terrorism problem, and if India can do the hard work of
both helping to bring the perpetrators to justice and trying
to prevent the next attack, then I think we can get through
this crisis," the top official said.

Asked if she believed the civilian government in Pakistan
has control over the military and the ISI, she said civilians
were very much in charge and there have been some "positive"
steps "though they're not nearly enough to this point".

"I have to say that I didn't hear a different line from
the military and from the civilians. In fact, I heard from the
military that they want the civilian government to succeed."

Rice felt that the deepening of Indo-US ties since 2001
helped in better tackling the crisis arising out of the Mumbai
terror attacks, as there is now a greater level of trust
between the two countries.

She said her visit to the subcontinent following the
November 26 carnage was aimed at showing solidarity with India
as also giving a message to Pakistan that terrorists operating
from its soil have to be dealt with and it is not enough to
say that they are "non-state actors". PTI SK
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