The US intelligence believes that Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Kashmir-focused insurgent groups will continue to plan and execute "attacks" in India.

"The intelligence community assesses that Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Tayiba and other Kashmir-focussed groups will continue attack planning and execution in India. Shia and Hindu religious observances are possible targets, as are transportation networks and government buildings," according to the Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnel.

McConnel was giving his assessment while briefing the US Select Senate Committee on Intelligence on an unclassified version of the Annual Threat Assessment.

"We judge Kashmir-focused groups will continue to support the attacks in Afghanistan, and operatives trained by the groups will continue to feature in Al Qaeda [Images] transnational attack planning," McConnel told lawmakers.

McConnel also made the assessment that although India and Pakistan are "fielding a more mature strategic nuclear capability" neither of them are in a cold war mentality of an arms race for numerical superiority.

The top intelligence person of the Bush administration also argued that the ongoing political uncertainty in Pakistan has not seriously threatened the military's control over the country's nuclear arsenals.

"In assessing the nuclear competition between India and Pakistan, we note that missile tests and new force deployments over the past three years have not affected the ongoing political dialogue.

Although both New Delhi and Islamabad are fielding a more mature strategic nuclear capability, they do not appear to be engaged in a cold war-style arms race for numerical superiority," McConnel said.