Washington, Dec. 10 : US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that she is unable to confirm whether the Pakistan Government has actually arrested the

Washington, Dec. 9 : US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that the Pakistani establishment has had historic ties with Lashkar-e-Taiba, although now it''s committed to fighting them.

In an interview to CNN on Sunday evening, Rice read out a charge-sheet against the Lashkar, spelling out the reasons for taking action against the group which, she said, was not only involved in the Mumbai attacks but also moved in "the same circles" as Al Qaeda.

"Well, there have been historic ties. There''s no doubt about that," the Dawn quoted Rice as saying when asked if Lashkar leaders were trained and supported by Pakistani intelligence agencies.

Washington  - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and pending successor Hillary Clinton will meet over dinner Monday evening, the State Department said.

A State Department official confirmed the plans but did not provide details. President-elect Barack Obama named Clinton on December 1 to serve as his secretary of state.

If approved by the Senate, Clinton would become the third woman to hold the post, succeeding Rice and Madeleine Albright, who served in the position during Bill Clinton's second term.

Washington, Dec. 8 : US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that Pakistan must take action against militants on its territory who may be linked to the Mumbai attacks, and added the argument that the Mumbai attackers were non-state actors is unacceptable.

She told ABC, “I did say to the Pakistanis that the argument that these are non-state actors is not acceptable. Non-state actors in your territory are still your responsibility.”

She said, “This is a time when Pakistan must act. They must act in concert with India, with the United States. Great Britain is helping.”

She added that Pakistan has expressed “a good, strong commitment” to take action, “but now we have to see follow-through.”

Washington, Dec. 8 : US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Sunday denied that India had given Pakistan a 48-hour deadline to take action against those behind last month’s terror attacks in Mumbai that claimed close to 200 lives and caused injuries to about 300.

Interviewed on Fox television, Rice said there was evidence of involvement of Pakistani elements in the attacks and added that they were non-state actors.

She echoed remarks from Pakistan’s Foreign Office denying Islamabad had agreed to a 48-hour timetable to take action against Pakistanis accused of involvement in the Mumbai attacks.

“No. There’s not a timetable involved here,” the US top diplomat said.

Islamabad, Dec 6 : US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has reportedly warned the Pakistan Government that if it does act quickly on the issue of last week''s terror attacks in Mumbai, the United States will not hesitate to step in to do the needful.

Contrary to the formal statements issued by Pakistani authorities and her own statement at the Chaklala Air Force base before her departure, sources said she "pushed the Pakistani leaders to take care of perpetrators, otherwise the US will act".