THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN AN IDEOLOGICAL ALLY AND ONE OF CONVENIENCE:

Pak must give absolute cooperation on Mumbai: Rice (REUTERS, 12/01/08)

Rice, who is due in India on Wednesday to try and lower tensions with its rival Pakistan, said the United States made clear to Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari there must be complete transparency in the investigation into the Mumbai attacks that killed nearly 200 people, including six Americans.

"What we are emphasising to the Pakistani government is the need to follow the evidence wherever it leads and to do that in the most committed and firmest possible way," she told reporters travelling with her to London, where she will discuss India-Pakistan tensions with Britain's foreign minister.

Indian officials have said the Islamist militants who went on the rampage in Mumbai for three days were from an anti-India group based in Pakistan.