May 22 :    May 22:  Pakistan's statement today, indicating a willingness to stop infiltration from occupied Kashmir into India, was preceded by a steady bombardment of public exhortations from officials at various levels in Washington, apart from the telephone diplomacy US secretary of state Colin Powell has been conducting. After the attack on the army camp at Kaluchak near Jammu, home minister L.K. Advani had told Robert Blackwill, the US ambassador to India, that President George W. Bush should be reminded of the prediction he had made in January. When Advani had met Bush then, the President had told him that he expected Pervez Musharraf to 'take all necessary steps in fighting terror. He has done it in the case of the Taliban... expects him to do it in the case of India, abandon terror as an instrument of state policy'. Since the Kaluchak incident, it has been clear that a war could only be avoided if Musharraf could be made to commit himself to stopping infiltration, and India has been looking to the US to lean on the Pakistan President. Frustrated with what it sees as America's failure, Delhi has frequently been making public its disappointment. Addressing soldiers today, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee said: '(The) world understands that we have been wronged, but they are not coming out openly in our favour. Hence we have to defend ourselves and we are ready for that.' Over the past few days, US officials, starting with state department spokesman Richard Boucher, have spoken of infiltration, indicating that they believe Pakistan has not discontinued the practice. Yesterday, disclosing a heightened level of diplomatic engagement in South Asia, Bush's national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said the US viewed Musharraf's assurance to 'end activity across the Line of Control from the territory of Pakistan...quite seriously.' A similar gentle reminder from the Americans to the ally they need most in the so-called war on terrorism came today from the US ambassador for counter-terrorism, Frank Taylor. 'We have not gotten where we want to be... (But) We are not as sceptical. We believe he (Musharraf) is a man of his word and that he is making efforts to improve the circumstance (though) we have not gotten the total results we are looking for.' He said this in response to a question whether Musharraf was implementing his pledge to oppose terrorism anywhere in the world. Taylor said Washington had been talking with both the Indian and Pakistani sides. 'In this very, very serious matter involving terrorist activity that is ongoing in Jammu and Kashmir...We want to make sure that there is no miscalculation on either side and that both sides work to stamp down the tension so that miscalculation does not lead to a confrontation that I don't think either side wants to have.' 'It is very important that for lessening tension there be no infiltration across the Line of Control,' he added but, to cushion the impact of his statement, gave Musharraf credit for trying to 'improve the circumstances'. Powell, while introducing the terrorism report at the state department, did not name Pakistan but the import of his statement cannot be lost on Islamabad's military leadership. 'In this global campaign against terrorism, no country, no nation has the luxury of remaining on the sidelines, because there are no sidelines.' Taylor had explained what the US meant when it said terrorism would not be tolerated anywhere, an elaboration that acquires relevance in the context of frequent Indian accusations of Washington practising 'double standards' in its anti-terror campaign. 'Be it Kashmir, Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, terrorism is not acceptable. That is what this world campaign is about,' Taylor said. Domestic circumstances may also be playing a part in Washington putting pressure on Islamabad. For the past few days, fears have been expressed about possible terrorist attacks in the US. President Bush, citing an assessment by FBI director Robert Mueller, said: 'He (Mueller) basically said, 'Look, I wouldn't be surprised if there is another attack, and it's going to be difficult to stop them', is what he said.' 'He was speculating based upon a lot of intelligence that indicates that al Qaida is active, plotting, planning, you know, trying to hit us,' Bush said.