Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf warned India today it would pay a heavy price for any attack but promised that his country would not be the first to go to war.
"Pakistan wants peace and de-escalation but should a mistake of attacking Pakistan be made they would regret their decision," he told a joint meeting of the National Security Council and the cabinet.
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Despite Mr Musharraf's tough warning frantic US-led international efforts to reduce tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals appear to have had some effect.
Pakistan arrested around 100 members of the two Kashmiri militant groups which India blames for the bloody December 13 attack on its national parliament.
India also says Pakistani military intelligence masterminded the attack, a charge which Pakistan denies.
In Kathmandu, the foreign ministers of the two countries shook hands, smiled and exchanged a few words today at a South Asia regional summit.
But the two countries have massed thousands of troops and heavy armour along their border, swapped tough diplomatic sanctions and banned each other's planes from their airspace.
Mr Musharraf said he had told world leaders that "Pakistan will never be the first to attack. We want peace and de-escalation." But he added that if it were attacked, "we will hit back very strongly.
"We have the capabilities, force and commitment to defend ourselves. We will come out of the present situation as a more strong, united and dynamic nation," the president said.
AFP