Washington DC, September26
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh branded Thursday's attack by militants on a police station and Army camp in Jammu and Kashmir as "barbaric" but - without mentioning Pakistan - said it would not derail efforts to pursue peace through dialogue.

"This is one more in a series of provocations and barbaric actions by the enemies of peace," Singh said in a statement. "Such attacks will not deter us and will not succeed in derailing our efforts to find a resolution to all problems through a process of dialogue."

The attack triggered calls in New Delhi for talks between the rival nations' leaders at the weekend to be called.

Just a day before the attack, Manmohan Singh said he would meet Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly for highly anticipated talks. They are expected to discuss rising violence in the Kashmir region.

It was a quiet birthday without any celebration for Manmohan Singh on Thursday in the wake of twin terror attacks in the Jammu region. Singh turned 81 today. — Agencies