News stories by Analysis by Praful Bidwai

As Sri Lanka’s armed forces battle the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in their last stronghold, the island country’s influential neighbour, India, is weighing diplomatic options to goad President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government to save civilians trapped in the war zone.

A week after Islamabad admitted that the plot to carry out the Nov. 26-29 attacks on Mumbai was partially planned in Pakistan, and that Pakistani nationals were among the assailants, there are tentative signs that the strained relations between the two neighbours may be thawing.

Five weeks after India handed over a dossier to Islamabad containing detailed evidence on the Nov. 26-29 Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistan has finally promised an official response, based on investigations by its Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

Exasperated by what it regards as 'a continuing pattern of evasiveness and denial in Pakistan's response to the terrorist attack on Mumbai', India seems to be fashioning a two-pronged approach towards Islamabad to get it to act firmly against terrorist networks based on its soil.

Six weeks after the Mumbai terrorist attacks precipitated a grave new crisis in their mutual relations, the danger of a military conflict breaking out between India and Pakistan has receded.

Following the late November terror attacks in Mumbai, India has passed two tough laws being seen by rights activists as potentially eroding the country’s federal structure and limiting fundamental liberties.

Even though their armed forces remain on high alert, India and Pakistan appear to be inching away from confrontation over the Mumbai terrorist attacks, which have precipitated a major crisis in their bilateral relations.