Preventing the next attack would necessarily involve increasing the political pressure on Pakistan. The most important way of doing this is to complete, rapidly and efficiently, the investigations into the Mumbai attacks and present a convincing case on the links between the terrorists who sailed into Mumbai last week and their handlers in Pakistan’s Lashkar-e-Toiba. Thanks to the expansive communication trail left behind by the Mumbai attackers, that task should not be too difficult. India’s police work into past terrorist attacks has not always been satisfactory. There is no room for any shoddiness in wrapping up the Mumbai dossier.

Although its focus must remain riveted for the moment on mobilising international public opinion, India cannot rely on the great powers — which have their own interests in Pakistan — to persuade

Islamabad to deliver on New Delhi’s demands. If Pakistan fails to act purposefully against those who masterminded the Mumbai attack, India must necessarily find ways to turn the heat on Islamabad. If the UPA does not have the political stomach for a military confrontation with Pakistan, it will quickly find that it has no credible diplomatic option either. What

India needs is a calibrated strategy that balances controlled military escalation with flexible diplomacy that can force Pakistan to act responsibly after Mumbai.