UN Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in New Delhi on Wednesday as part of intense U.S. efforts to ease tension between India and Pakistan that has surged over the Mumbai attacks. Rice cut short a European tour to visit India. She is scheduled to meet the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is under election-year pressure to craft a muscular response to the opposition’s criticism on his ruling Congress party with claims of a weak security.

Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, would also visit the region starting according to officials but have declined to give in the specifications. The meeting is particulary important as India and Pakistan were on the brink of a fourth war in 2002, just a few years after both demonstrated nuclear weapons capabilities, following an attack on India’s parliament by Islamist militants. They were pulled back after frantic diplomacy by the United States and other allies.