INDIA-PAKISTAN

Times of India: India's pre-emptive strike remark taken seriously: US

ISLAMABAD: The US has said it has taken "seriously" India's assertion that it reserved the right to launch a pre-emptive strike against Pakistan and advised the two countries to ensure that the situation does not "get out of hand".

A senior unnamed US State Department official, quoted by Dawn newspaper, also said the infiltration of militants into Jammu and Kashmir "has not stopped as yet and it is something we have said needs to stop."

About External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha's remarks that India reserved the right to launch a pre-emptive attack against Pakistan just as the US did against Iraq, the official said Washington is "in pretty regular touch with both governments to ensure that the situation does not get out of hand. Threats of war are always something taken seriously