India, Pakistan ready for war, but diplomatic answer may lie ah

NEW DELHI, India -- India and Pakistan put missiles on alert and ratcheted up war preparations Wednesday, but firing subsided along their tense border as both nuclear-armed nations turned to diplomatic efforts to avert a wider conflict.

The frontier was relatively calm Wednesday after daily exchanges of gunfire since a Dec. 13 gun and grenade attack on India's Parliament that New Delhi blames on its neighbor and long-time rival, Pakistan.

Both sides indicated they were looking at diplomatic options, and there was international pressure to avert a war, which would be the fourth between the two nations. Britain was "continuing to urge restraint on both governments," the Foreign Office said.

India accused Pakistan's spy agency of sponsoring the attack, which it said was carried out by two Pakistan-based militant Muslim groups, a charge Islamabad denied.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell on Wednesday announced that the United States is freezing the assets of the two militant groups, Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e Tayyaba. While the U.S. administration does not have definitive proof that the two groups carried out the Parliament attack, the administration also has no reason to dispute India's contention, a U.S. official said on condition of anonymity.

The two groups seek to "undermine peace and stability in South Asia and destroy relations between India and Pakistan," Powell said.

India and Pakistan have moved troops to the frontier. Trains heading to the border in India's western state of Rajasthan were full of soldiers Wednesday, and Indian air force jets flew over the border town of Jaisalmer every seven minutes.

Indian missiles "are in position," Defense Minister George Fernandes told Press Trust of India on Wednesday. India's arsenal includes medium-range Russian missiles and the Indian-made Prithvi I, which can be fired from a mobile launcher and has a range of 93 miles.

Pakistan and Indian news media reported that Pakistani missiles -- including medium-range Chinese-made weapons -- had been put on alert.

The missile systems in both countries can be converted to deliver nuclear warheads, but it is not clear whether such steps have been taken.

India's Cabinet Committee on Security met Wednesday to discuss "further diplomatic offensives," Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said. No decision will be made until Thursday.

India has already recalled its ambassador from Pakistan and announced that bus and train services between the two countries will end on Jan. 1. Further action could include a possible ban on Pakistan airline flights, abrogation of a water treaty, downgrading of embassies, and cancellation of Pakistan's "most favored nation" trading status.

Pakistan said it would "act with restraint."

"Indian leaders are generating a war hysteria because of domestic compulsions," Information Secretary Anwar Mahmood told The Associated Press. "Our hope is that better sense will prevail in India also."

Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar accused New Delhi of trying to intimidate Pakistan, saying, "India has something sinister in mind."

"India should know that Pakistan is in a position to make an effective defense of its territory. Our forces are absolutely well prepared to counter any aggressive move," Sattar told state-run Pakistan television.

Pakistan's position has been bolstered by its new presence on the world stage as a key partner of the United States in the U.S.-led war against terrorism in neighboring Afghanistan.

India's Singh confirmed that a summit of seven South Asian leaders -- including Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf -- will take place next week in Katmandu, Nepal. That would give the two leaders the chance for face-to-face talks.

News reports quoted Indian defense sources as saying its military would not be ready for a full-scale war for several months and would prefer to avoid fighting in the winter.

India has demanded that Musharraf's government take action against Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e Tayyaba, which are fighting to separate Kashmir from India. Two of India and Pakistan's three wars since 1947 have been over Kashmir.

Musharraf condemned the Parliament attack, which killed 14 people. Under U.S. pressure, his government froze the assets of the two groups and arrested the Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar. He also spoke out against Muslim militants in Pakistan, saying they "undermine Islam."

India's foreign minister described the action as "trickery" and "cosmetic."

In a follow-up action, Pakistani police arrested 30 militants at the offices of Jaish-e-Mohammed, witnesses and police said Wednesday.