Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistan's president, yesterday made an urgent appeal to India not to punish his country for the terror unleashed on Mumbai last week, warning that militants had the power to precipitate a war in the region.
As the government in New Delhi faced mounting domestic recriminations after the three-day terrorist rampage in Mumbai, Mr Zardari urged Manmohan Singh, India's prime minister, to resist striking out at his government should investigations show that Pakistani militant groups were responsible for the attacks.
Speaking exclusively to the Financial Times, Pakistan's president warned that provocation by rogue non-state actors posed the danger of a return to war between the nuclear-armed neighbours.