NEW DELHI, Aug 6: Foreign ministers of India and Pakistan are not likely to meet bilaterally at a Saarc conference in Kathmandu this month, their aloofness shored up by a fresh massacre of nine Hindu pilgrims in Kashmir by suspected Muslim militants, officials said on Tuesday.

Holding Islamabad responsible for Tuesday’s massacre near the tourist resort of Pahalgam, one way or another, foreign ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao injected a nuanced warning into the incident, saying: “India has been the soul of restraint and maturity in its reaction to these terrible events. But let that not be mistaken as a sign of weakness or softness when it comes to dealing with the situation.”

Rao’s comments appeared to set the backdrop for the Kathmandu meeting of the foreign ministers of the seven-nation South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation on August 20.

Usually reliable reports quoted Indian officials as saying there would be no meeting between the foreign ministers of the two sides. It was not clear if there was a proposal for talks that now stood shelved.

Rao’s remarks also signalled another pattern — a major incident in Kashmir followed by angry words from New Delhi just ahead of an important American visit to New Delhi.

US Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage is due here on August 23 before visiting Islamabad the following day.

Describing the massacre of pilgrims as an act of unmitigated terrorism, Rao added: “We have always said that we continue to be extremely concerned about the activities generated by terrorism in our neighbourhood and on sovereign Indian territory as a result of support received from cross border forces.”

“In all previous instances involving such terrorist attacks, investigations have consistently revealed that the perpetrators are members of terrorist outfits directly linked to Pakistan.”

India has “every reason and every right to defend our security and to act with firmness and determination against those who threaten our sovereignty and security and to resolutely resist the forces of terrorism.”

India Today magazine’s online newspaper, regarded as close to the present administration, said the upcoming polls in Kashmir would be “the litmus test” of Islamabad’s commitment to rein in Islamic militants in the region.

“Not a chance,” it quoted a senior Indian official as saying when asked if Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha would meet Pakistan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Inamul Haq on the margins of the SAARC meeting.

“We are going to watch carefully. For us, the litmus test will be what happens during elections in Kashmir,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said. Other officials earlier this week were quoted as saying a meeting between Sinha and Haq was possible.

Pakistani officials in New Delhi said they were not involved in any preparations for talks in Kathmandu, also indicating that they were not likely to be happening.

“If elections are peaceful”, the online newspaper said, quoting an official, “Islamabad will then have to provide evidence on the ground that it has ceased promoting terrorism in India. This involves dismantling militant training camps and their communication networks.”

India would look at the developments in “totality” and then decide about talks with Pakistan, he added. “We are no longer prepared to hold talks if the attempt by Islamabad is to hold negotiations and at the same time reserve its option of aiding and abetting terrorism on Indian soil,” the official said.

The official felt there was “no other way out” of the standoff than through talks, but made it clear that Islamabad would first have to act.

The Press Trust of India meanwhile said Indian troops foiled a militants’ attempt to storm into their camp at Handwara early on Tuesday. It quoted unidentified defence sources for the report. PTI said five militants and three troops were killed in three encounters in north Kashmir.

Two militants, armed with sophisticated weapons and wearing combat uniforms, opened fire on an army camp at Handwara in the border district of Kupwara in north Kashmir around 6.30 am, PTI quoted sources as saying.

They said the militants belonged to a suicide squad attached to an alleged Pakistan-based militant group. They were engaged by a quick reaction team of army outside the camp, the sources said.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Lal Krishan Advani identified the group he accused of killing the Hindu pilgrims as Al Mansuriya, claimed to be a new militant outfit floated by the Lashkar-i-Taiba.

Advani told reporters that of the 28 people injured, 15 of those seriously wounded had been airlifted to Srinagar for treatment.