PAKISTAN has said that it has prepared a reply to India's dossier containing information, called by it proof, about the Mumbai attacks and would hand it over to New Delhi within a week. It would be unrealistic on the part of India to expect Islamabad to comply with the latter's unrealistic demands of taking action in the absence of proofs. Apart from their heinous nature, the attacks are a criminal act, and punishments cannot be awarded without due investigation and preparation of a case against any possible non-state actors involved in the affair. Pakistan has already banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa and two other charities in deference to a UNSC resolution and detained a number of persons. Without solid evidence in its hands, it cannot go beyond that. The US and Britain, which have conducted independent probes, have made it abundantly clear that the Pakistani administration was in no way involved in the attacks. Being itself a prime target of terrorism, Pakistan has every reason to find out if any non-state actors, like those who targeted Islamabad's Marriott Hotel, were in anyway involved in the affair. Among the unreasonable demands being made by India is to hand over a number of persons accused by it of involvement in the attacks. Pakistan is conducting a thorough enquiry into the matter on the basis of information supplied by its own agencies, and has maintained that in case of there being solid evidence against any Pakistani citizen, he would be tried in the country in accordance with Pakistani laws instead of being handed over to India. Pakistan's position has been endorsed by the international community. Earlier US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and now British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, have supported the stand. As Prime Minister Gilani has said, a thorough enquiry would take time and everyone should patiently wait for it instead of launching a campaign to malign Pakistan. Instead of being helpful, this would further embitter relations between the neighbours. Indian Foreign Minister Mukherjee's statement, reading a so-called pattern of evasiveness in Pakistan's response, is the latest attempt in the direction. Even more dangerous are statements that can be interpreted as threats of war like the one by Indian Army Chief Gen. Deepak Kapoor who has not ruled out war 'as a last resort'. Of course, armies are maintained to fight wars when they become inevitable, but a statement of the type coming at a time when tensions between the two countries are high, is liable to be met by similar statements. This would foil the attempts being made by countries friendly to both Pakistan and India, to bring down the temperature.