Pak official praised India's response after 26/11 attacks

The official, whose name was deleted in the confidential cable, "praised the Indian Government for acting 'more responsibly and maturely' than it did after the bombing of India's embassy in Kabul".

The cable, signed by then US envoy David C Mulford, spoke of strong demands projected in the Indian media for retaliatory action against terror camps in Pakistan. It quoted the Pakistani official as saying that the Indian government's reaction to the bombing of its Kabul embassy was "impulsive and politically motivated when it immediately pinned blame on Pakistan's Intelligence Agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)".

According to the officer, the media's portrayal of how the 26/11 terror attacks would "negatively affect the bilateral relationship, will fizzle out over the next few months", the cable, dated December 1, 2008, said.

The officer said the Indian media had also projected the Manmohan Singh government's offer to ISI Chief Ahmad Pasha to visit Delhi to cooperate in the investigation as "summons", though the visit had been decided before the attacks.

He also "expressed dismay at what he described as the Congress Party's use of political leverage with the media to focus on and 'embarrass' Pakistan", the cable said. The concluding comment on this issue by the US Embassy was "No Military Confrontation Anticipated".

"Despite the strong diplomatic rhetoric we expect to see in the next several months, the chances of a military confrontation are being played down by most.

"The signposts of such a military conflict are absent: there has been no mobilization of troops at the border, ambassadors have not been recalled nor have there been requests by either side for a reduction in the number of diplomatic staff. Road, rail, and airlinks are still operative," the cable said.