NEW DELHI/ISLAMABAD: The bombing of India’s embassy in Kabul last month has cast a shadow over a peace process with Pakistan, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said yesterday in a key speech in which he urged Islamabad to clamp down on terrorism.

India has blamed Pakistan’s spy agency for the July 7 attack in which two Indian diplomats were among 58 people killed. Pakistan has denied any involvement.

Singh’s speech to mark Independence Day was the latest salvo in a war of words with Pakistan, sparking fears that a tentative peace process between the nuclear rivals may unravel after the Kabul bombing, border shootings and the upheaval in Indian Kashmir.

India yesterday said border guards were fired on with rockets and machine-gun fire from across the border in Indian Kashmir, one of several incidents in recent weeks.

Addressing a huge gathering from the ramparts of New Delhi’s historic Red Fort, Singh said Pakistan must rein in terrorists. “If this issue of terrorism is not addressed, all the good intentions that we have for our two peoples to live in peace and harmony will be negated,” Singh said. “We will not be able to pursue the peace initiatives we want to take.”

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said they were keen to continue the peace process. “We have an interest in the peace process. We think it’s good for the people of South Asia,” Mohammad Sadiq, a spokesman said in response to Singh’s comment.

Snipers kept a close watch from high-rise buildings as Singh unfurled the national flag at the Red Fort to a 21-gun salute. The prime minister admitted that the peace process between the two countries was in trouble and that the Kabul blast had cast a shadow over efforts to normalize relations with Pakistan.

Elite commandos were called out to join 17,000 paramilitary soldiers and New Delhi’s 70,000-strong police department.

Security was also high in Indian Kashmir, which has been engulfed in deadly protests over a land dispute that has inflamed religious tensions and stoked a long-standing separatist campaign.

Touching on the Kashmir violence, Singh used his speech to attack those intent on “dividing people in the name of religion” - an apparent reference to both Hindu and Muslim hard-liners.

In Mumbai, thousands of police searched the city as a precaution against copycat attacks after serial blasts rocked Ahmedabad and Bangalore last month.

“I have personally conveyed my concern and disappointment to the government of Pakistan,” said Singh, marking the 62nd anniversary of independence from British rule. He also called for peace in troubled Indian Kashmir, which has seen its worst protests in recent days since a separatist revolt against New Delhi broke out in the region 20 years ago.

— With input from agencies