Pakistan needs to act forcefully against terrorism: Rice

Pakistan needs to "act and act forcefully" against terrorists and ensure that its territory is not used again by "non-state actors" to carry out heinous attacks similar to that in Mumbai, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said.

"Frankly, the US has better relations with India and Pakistan than in 2001-02. But it is obviously a dangerous situation, and Pakistan needs to act and act forcefully," she said in an interview to CNBC.

Although there is "no bellicose talk" from either India or Pakistan in the aftermath of the terror attacks in Mumbai, the situation is "obviously dangerous and Islamabad needs to act forcefully," Rice said.

"I heard no bellicose talk from either of these (India and Pakistan) governments. I heard instead a very deep concern to deal with the situation.

"Fortunately, we are in a little bit better situation than we were in 2001-02 -- when the two states were on the verge of war (following the attack on Indian Parliament) -- because India and Pakistan have done a lot of work to improve their relations," she said.

However, Rice said: "This was a time (for Pakistan) to act" against terrorists.

The fact that Pakistani soil had been used by "these non-state actors" to carry out the Mumbai attacks in which Americans also died was a matter of "deep concern" to the United States, she said.