During her five-day visit to India, Clinton has repeatedly asked Pakistan to bring 26/11 attackers to justice, but at the same stressed the commitment of the current dispensation in Islamabad to combat terrorism. These remarks are seen as veiled persuasion by Washington to nudge New Delhi to resume dialogue with Islamabad.

Clinton used an analogy from the Cold War to underscore her point about the need for continuous conversation between nations despite hostility and differences in ideology.

'When I was growing up, the Soviet Union and Communism was as scary to us as terrorism and extremism is today. We have this sense of the wrong we have nothing to do with them they have nothing to do with us.

'But our leaders never stopped talking, they went to summits, our diplomats got engaged to look for ways to avoid nuclear wars or other incidents,' Clinton said.

'So I am a big believer in talking, that doesn't mean you give (up) your principles, your values, your safety and security but through talking perhaps progress can be made.'

Clinton stressed on the need for expanding people-to-people contacts in the South Asian context.

'I hope we find new and creative ways to enhance people-to-people connect in this region, some of them through organisations, some of them through businesses and some of them through academics. I believe in it very strongly and I think it holds great promise.'

In a joint statement at Sharm-el-Sheikh in Egypt on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement summit July 16, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani agreed to cooperate in countering terrorism by sharing information, but New Delhi deferred a decision on resuming composite dialogue with Islamabad, saying it will depend on future developments.