Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee stepped up diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to act against those behind last month’s Mumbai terrorist attacks amid reports Pakistan is redeploying troops to its border with India.

Mukherjee said he has spoken to several foreign ministers, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Yang Jiechi of China and Iran’s Manouchehr Mottaki since Dec. 25 to persuade their governments to ask Pakistan to tackle terrorist groups. Pakistan is seeking to whip up war hysteria, Mukherjee said in New Delhi yesterday.

“Instead of diverting attention from the real issue, they should concentrate on how to fight against terrorism and bring to book the perpetrators of the Mumbai attack,” he said.

Pakistani troops are being diverted from tribal areas near Afghanistan to the border with India, the Associated Press reported, citing Pakistani intelligence officials and a reporter in South Waziristan who saw 40 truckloads of troops being moved away from the Afghan border. The Pakistan army’s 14th division is being sent to the towns of Kasur and Sialkot, AP said.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said in televised comments that any strikes within the country by India would be met with immediate retaliation. Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani said Pakistan’s military is prepared to defend the country along all its borders, Dawn News television reported.

The country put troops along its eastern border on “high alert” and canceled soldiers’ leave until April, Dawn reported, citing military officials it didn’t name.

Three Wars

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947, two of them over the Himalayan territory of Kashmir, divided between the two and claimed by both. Rising tensions have led to a halt in the five-year-old peace process between the two sides, which began in 2003 after the nuclear-armed neighbors pulled back from the brink of a fourth war in the previous year.

India has been seeking to build global consensus on action against terrorism following the Nov. 26-29 attack, which killed 164 people. India blamed the assault on “elements” in Pakistan, and Pakistan has asked for evidence to back up that accusation.

“We have indicated to them that there is ample evidence -- from log books to satellite phone records -- that elements from Pakistan were responsible,” Mukherjee said.

India and Saudi Arabia earlier yesterday called for global coordinated action against terrorism.

“Global terrorism has to be dealt with by joint action among all countries,” Mukherjee said at a briefing in New Delhi with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Prince Saud al-Faisal. “We agreed that whatever action has to be taken should be taken without delay.”

UN Action Urged

The United Nations should set up an agency to tackle terrorism, al-Faisal said, describing such acts as “an evil and a cancer in our world.”

India’s foreign ministry advised its nationals not to travel to Pakistan, following reports that several Indians were arrested in Lahore and Multan and were being accused of being terrorists.

The Indian government said that the detention of its nationals may be the work of organizations outside of civilian control, without elaborating.

The U.S. called on both nations to lower tensions.

“We continue to be in close contact with both countries to urge closer cooperation in investigating the Mumbai attacks and in fighting terrorism generally,” White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said in an e-mailed release. “We hope that both sides will avoid taking steps that will unnecessarily raise tensions during these already tense times.”

Suspects Detained

Earlier this month, Pakistan detained suspected militants linked to Jamaat ud-Dawa, which a UN Security Council panel said was a front for terrorists belonging to the Lashkar-e-Taiba group blamed by India for the Mumbai attacks. While Jamaat ud-Dawa has denied involvement, Pakistan has said that any prosecutions will be made under its law.

India’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday met the chiefs of the army, air force and navy, the government said in a release. “The prime minister was briefed on the prevailing security situation,” according to the release.

Airports have further stepped up security, Home Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said in New Delhi yesterday, without elaborating. Airports and other facilities in India had already boosted security measures following the Mumbai attacks and subsequent threats.

The minister said he has written to the states to outline measures they can take immediately to counter terrorism. A meeting of chief ministers will be held on Jan. 6, he said.

To contact the reporters on this story: Pratik Parija in New Delhi at pparija@bloomberg.net; Khaleeq Ahmed in Islamabad at paknews@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 26, 2008 13:50 EST