NEW Delhi, which has tried to use the Mumbai terror attacks to isolate Pakistan internationally, met with a rebuff when no major country agreed to support its demand for handing over the Pakistani suspects to it. First US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and now British Foreign Secretary David Miliband, have supported Islamabad's case that anyone from Pakistan found to be involved in the attacks could only be tried in Pakistan. This has led a reluctant Pranab Mukherjee to beat a retreat and instead seek "a fair trial" in Pakistan. Islamabad has already initiated the process to bring to justice any culprits found on is soil. The remarks on Kashmir by British Foreign Secretary David Miliband are indicative of a realisation that seems to be gradually taking place in a terrorism-weary world, that it is necessary to resolve the Kashmir dispute to have peace in the region, which includes India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. The argument built up by Mr Miliband is by no means insubstantial. According to him, it would amount to playing in the hands of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda, which has a global agenda and a worldwide reach, to link to it the various regional militant groups fighting for a local cause. "The reality is that the motivations and identities of terrorist groups are disparate." According to him, a resolution of the dispute over Kashmir would help deny extremists in the region one of their main calls to arms and allow Pakistan to focus more effectively on tackling the threat on its western borders. Not long ago, the then Senator Barack Obama had linked peace in Afghanistan with the settlement of the Kashmir dispute. There were also reports in the US media that indicated Mr Obama meditated appointing former US President Bill Clinton his envoy for Kashmir. The French government too had expressed the view that peace in Afghanistan hinges on the resolution of the Kashmir conflict. Pakistan has clamped down on militants by closing their schools, seminaries, libraries and websites, banning a host of publications and arresting scores of suspects. The high-level inquiry commission appointed to conduct the probe needs now to complete its assignment in a transparent manner and without undue delay. Anyone found guilty must be tried and awarded punishment in accordance with the law. Pakistan needs to satisfy the international community about the fairness of the investigation and the subsequent trial, if it is really needed. It is time New Delhi reined in it its hawks and initiated the peace process again from where it was unilaterally halted by it. The composite dialogue should begin with special importance given to the resolution of the core issue of Kashmir. The powder keg, that has the potential to blow up the entire region, has to be defused through a solution in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people determined through a referendum.