WASHINGTON, Dec 1: US President-elect Barack Obama said on Monday that India would be within its rights if it took retaliatory actions against militants hiding inside Pakistan.

Mr Obama made these comments when reminded at a news conference in Chicago that during the election campaign he had said the United States had a right to attack high-value terrorist targets in Pakistan if given actionable intelligence with or without the Pakistani government’s permission.

“Do you think India has that same right?” he was asked.

“I think that sovereign nations, obviously, have a right to protect themselves,” Mr Obama replied. “Beyond that, I don’t want to comment on the specific situation that’s taking place in South Asia right now.”

He said it was important to let the investigators do their jobs and determine who was responsible for carrying out “these heinous acts” in Mumbai.

“I can tell you that my administration will remain steadfast in support of India’s efforts to catch the perpetrators of this terrible act and bring them to justice. And I expect that the world community will feel the same way,” said Mr Obama.

“And my expectation is that President Zardari of Pakistan, who has already said that he will fully cooperate with the investigation, will follow through with that commitment.”

In his opening remarks, Mr Obama said that like 9/11, the international community was reminded again last week in Mumbai that “terrorism cannot be contained by borders nor safety can be provided by oceans alone.”

He noted that there were six Americans among nearly 200 victims in Mumbai.

“In the world we seek, there is no place for those who kill innocent civilians to advance hateful extremism,” Mr Obama declared.

He said that during the weekend, he telephoned Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and told him that Americans stood with the people of India in this dark time.

“And I am confident that India’s great democracy is more resilient than killers who would tear it down,” he added.

Mr Obama also quoted US Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who keeps his job in the Obama administration as well, as saying that “Afghanistan is where the war on terror began, and it is where it must end.”

Mr Obama noted that US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who was briefing him on the situation in South Asia, was going to the region while the US also had sent FBI agents to India.

“We’re going to be engaged in some very delicate diplomacy in the next several days and weeks,” he said.

He said it would be inappropriate for him to comment on the situation in South Asia while President Bush was still in power but assured India that “both myself and the team that stands beside me are absolutely committed to eliminating the threat of terrorism”.

He added: “And that is true wherever it is found. We cannot tolerate a world in which innocents are being killed by extremists based on twisted ideologies.”

Mr Obama said that his administration would bring “the full force of our power, not only military but also diplomatic, economic, and political”, to deal with those threats not only to keep America safe but also to ensure that peace and prosperity would exist around the world.

“So I will be monitoring the situation closely. Thus far, I think the (Bush) administration has done what’s needed in trying to get the details of the situation,” he concluded.