"PAKISTAN" seems to be one issue which India has just not been able to get out of its way. After the Mumbai attacks the issue of "how to handle Pakistan" has been haunting the UPA government like never before.

On one hand there is much pressure on government to ensure strict steps against Pakistan while on the other hand if action is taken against Pakistan, which is what the militants and Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency want, it would create conditions for foreign powers to interfere in Kashmir. This is the reason why India is being very cautious at every step so as to not cause any collateral damage.

Till Sunday, India had not suspended composite dialogue talks with Pakistan and the Indus water commissioner was in Islamabad as scheduled.

India is trying to portray this issue a terrorism issue, which affects everyone, rather than a mere India-Pakistan issue. This was the gist of the message that PM Manmohan Singh conveyed to US President George Bush on Sunday evening as well as to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Japanese PM Taro. All three leaders have pledged their support to India.