Rice: Pakistan must act now

Washington: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Sunday that Pakistan must act quickly to arrest suspects linked to the deadly attacks in India to help ensure there are no follow-on assaults.

Interviewed on Fox television, Rice said she stressed during her visit to Pakistan last week how important it was for Islamabad to act quickly but denied there was a 48-hour deadline to take action.

"The important thing is that Pakistan act and that these people are brought to justice and that any information that they may have is put to use in making sure follow-on attacks don't happen," Rice said.

Rice echoed remarks from Pakistan's foreign office denying Islamabad had agreed to a 48-hour timetable to take action against Pakistanis accused of involvement in the Mumbai attacks.

The Washington Post reported that Pakistan had agreed to a deadline imposed by the United States and India to arrest three people and formulate a plan to take action against a militant group accused of involvement in the attacks.