US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice is arriving in New Delhi on Wednesday and may head to Islamabad next.
Rice will discuss the Mumbai terror attacks even as US president-elect Barack Obama and the man he defeated, John McCain, both made their support to India clear.
Western nations have already stepped up the pressure on Islamabad with Obama already endorsing India’s right to militarily respond to any Pakistani provocation.
“I think all sovereign nations have a right to defend themselves. Me and my team will support India in its efforts to catch these perpetrators and bring them to justice,” said Obama.
Senator McCain and Obama’s rival in the presidential race echoed the president-elect’s sentiments.
“There has been tragic loss of people including Americans in the attack. We will co-operate in nabbing the perpetrators,” said McCain.
In Islamabad in a televised address Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi conceded India’s demand for a joint investigation into the Mumbai attacks.
“We need to come up with a joint strategy and Pakistan is ready for it,” said Qureshi.
But there is still no word on handing over India’s most wanted.
India has given Islamabad its wish list of 20 including underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, Maulana Masood Azha of the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hafiz Sayeed of the Lashkar-e-Toiba.
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