India appealed today for international support for its own war on terrorism but vowed to tackle Pakistani-based Muslim militants with or without outside help.
As India and Pakistan mass troops along their border and trade tit-for-tat sanctions and the United States urges peace talks, Indian Home Minster Mr Lal Krishna Advani said the fight against terrorism did not end with Osama bin Laden.
"I would like to say to nations that the problems that they are trying to solve are not connected with one man or one country", he said, referring to bin Laden and Afghanistan.
"This problem is born from fundamentalism...and thus we must fight against fundamentalism. And that is why I want to say that the fight this time will be such that it will not be against any country but for decisive victory over terrorism".
Mr Advani said India would welcome international support: "But if not, even then we will not worry".
With elections in several Indian states in February, the government is facing pressure from politicians and many members of the public to take a tough line with Pakistan.
Indian and Pakistani forces exchanged fire overnight across the ceasefire line dividing Kashmir, the disputed Himalayan region at the centre of the latest row between the world's newest nuclear powers.
Such clashes have occurred daily, despite winter snows setting in and hampering military operations.
India accuses Pakistan of waging a proxy war by sponsoring Pakistan-based Islamic militants fighting its rule in Kashmir, mainly-Hindu India's only Muslim-majority state.
It has demanded Pakistan shut down two Kashmiri separatist groups it blames for a December 13th attack on its parliament in New Delhi.
The United States, keen to defuse a standoff that could complicate its hunt for the Saudi-born militant bin Laden has resorted to intense telephone diplomacy to reconcile the two countries.
US Defense Secretary Mr Donald Rumsfeld said Washington did not want Pakistan to divert forces from its border with Afghanistan, where they have been watching out for bin Laden, his al Qaeda fighters and his Taliban protectors.
But Indian Foreign Minister Mr Jaswant Singh yesterday said talks with Pakistan were neither practical nor possible in the current climate.