January 15, 2009	Thursday	Muharram 17, 1430

WASHINGTON, Jan 14: Both India and Pakistan have successfully managed the tensions that followed the Mumbai terrorist attacks, the US State Department said on Wednesday, downplaying media reports that both countries had deployed additional troops on their border.

Spokesman Sean McCormack said the two sides had managed tensions well and he did not see the situation going out of hand.

“We have been watching very closely for some time and talking to both sides, the Pakistan side and the Indian side, about managing the tensions in the aftermath of terrorist attacks in Mumbai,” the spokesman said.

“To this point, both sides have managed to do that successfully, some of these troop movements notwithstanding, both on the Indian side as well as the Pakistani side.”

Mr McCormack confirmed that the US administration also had noted that both countries had deployed additional troops on their border after the Mumbai attacks, but he did not see any cause for alarm.

“We have seen some of these deployments. But you know, overall, relatively speaking, we have seen some cooperation between India and Pakistan,” he said.

Asked if he believed such troop movements were manageable, the US official said: “Well, thus far, they have been. Thus far, each side has managed the aftermath of Mumbai in such a way that the tensions haven’t escalated in a way that has been unhelpful to maintaining peace and stability.”

The State Department spokesman, however, stressed that the United States would like to see better cooperation between the two countries in probing the Mumbai attacks.

“We would like to see more exchange of information about the Mumbai attacks so that you can get to the bottom of exactly who was responsible, see the entire plot, and hold all responsible for their actions, and make sure that in doing so you prevent any further plots from getting to the point of execution,” he said.

“We’ve seen some of that. We’d like to see more … each side has pieces to the puzzle that the other doesn’t, so in order to complete the picture here, they need to cooperate.”