'The Cold Warriors in India should take heed from what Singh has said. Indeed, the brave statesmanlike initiatives of the Pakistani and Indian leaders should be applauded,' Daily Times contended.

Dawn wrote in the same vein, noting that Manmohan Singh had 'attempted a delicate balancing act' in his speech in parliament Wednesday by taking on his critics and denying any change in India's foreign policy.

'Essentially,' Manmohan Singh had 'argued that the joint statement reflected his opinion that Pakistan, in the absence of the composite dialogue, should not claim that it cannot take action against transnational terrorist groups simply because the dialogue is on hold', said the editorial, headlined 'PM Singh explains'.

Asking whether Manmohan Singh's critics had 'won and forced him to back away from what appeared to be an attempt to improve ties with Pakistan', the editorial replied: 'Not necessarily.'

Praising the prime minister's speech, it seems that he is still holding out one hand to Pakistan while trying to fend off his domestic detractors with the other, Dawn said.