NEW DELHI, Dec 3: In an escalation towards an uncertain denouement, India warned Pakistan on Wednesday that it would use any means to thwart cross-border terror attacks on its territory. And visiting US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice hinted that last week’s massacre in Mumbai could have an Al Qaeda hand.

“Whether there is a direct Al Qaeda hand or not, this is clearly the kind of terror in which Al Qaeda participates,” she told a press conference during the one-day visit here. “We are not here to jump to the conclusion that who is responsible,” Ms Rice said.

As she spoke India’s Defence Minister A.K. Antony met the chiefs of India’s armed forces and urged security measures to watch out against an aerial attack by militants. Indian news agencies said Mr Antony asked the armed forces chiefs to be prepared to counter and prevent a repeat of 9/11-type of attacks carried out by Al Qaeda.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, meanwhile, also used an election rally in Uri, near the Line of Control in Kashmir, to warn Pakistan. “We have striven to have good relations with our neighbours. But this should not be construed as our weakness. India has a history of giving sacrifices. If provoked we can give a befitting reply to our detractors,” she declared.

Ms Rice and Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee focussed their comments on Mumbai and its possible fallout.

“The response of the Pakistani government should be one of cooperation and of action,” Ms Rice said at an evening news conference with Mr Mukherjee. But she also urged India to exercise restraint. “Any response needs to be judged by its effectiveness in prevention and also by not creating other unintended consequences or difficulties.”

In an apparent reference to President Asif Ali Zardari’s characterisation of the Mumbai attackers as ‘stateless’ actors, Ms Rice added that even if “non-state actors” had carried out the killings, it would still be Pakistan’s responsibility to take “direct and tough action” against them.

“I have said that Pakistan needs to act with resolve and urgency, cooperate fully and transparently,” she told reporters. “That message has been delivered and will be delivered to Pakistan.”

Mr Mukherjee who said on Tuesday that “no one is talking about military action,” appeared to have shifted from that assurance. Instead, with Ms Rice by his side, he said: “The government of India is determined to act decisively to protect India’s territorial integrity and the security of its people.”

He said he had “informed Dr Rice there is no doubt that the terrorist attacks in Mumbai were perpetrated by individuals who came from Pakistan and whose controllers are in Pakistan”.

He said there was a design to strike at the developmental, scientific and economic activity of the country, a reference to a series of attacks on Indian cities this year.