Pakistan calls India army chief's comments 'most unfortunate'

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Wednesday chided India for continuing to "ratchet up tensions" in the wake of the Mumbai attacks, calling its army chief's remark that all options were open "most unfortunate."

The statement from the foreign ministry in Islamabad was the latest in a series of tit-for-tat accusations between the neighbours in the six weeks since the attacks in Mumbai, which killed 174 people including nine of the gunmen.

India's army chief General Deepak Kapoor said earlier Wednesday that while he regarded war as a "last resort," the current situation meant that "we in India are keeping all our options open and that must be clearly understood."

Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Sadiq responded by saying "these statements are most unfortunate." "Pakistan continues to make every effort to defuse tensions in South Asia and has repeatedly stated that it is prepared to extend its cooperation to the Indian government concerning the Mumbai incident," the spokesman said.

Sadiq said Islamabad regretted that India "continues to ratchet up tensions, which is certainly not helpful to the cause of peace, security and stability of the region and in the overall efforts in countering terrorism." "Indulging in the blame game is counterproductive," he said.