WASHINGTON?President Bush assured India’s home minister on Thursday that the United States will press Pakistan for tougher action against those suspected in terrorist attacks against India.

Home Minister Lal Advani, a top adviser on security issues to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, said India appreciated Bush’s pledge but would otherwise reserve judgment.

“In India, Pakistan’s acts will be judged not by the statements it makes, but by the actions which accompany such a statement,” Advani said. Advani saw Bush during a meeting with national security adviser Condoleezza Rice.

He said Bush assured him that he expected Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to “abandon terror as an instrument of state policy.”

Powell, preparing for a trip to India and Pakistan, said Wednesday that Musharraf could work harder to ease renewed tensions with India.