The rival South Asian states suspended talks in 2008 after gunmen killed 166 people in the western Indian city of Mumbai, and only agreed last month to resume their dialogue.

In an August 2009 diplomatic cable published by The Hindu newspaper, US ambassador Timothy Roemer reported that Singh was "more isolated than we thought within his own inner circle".

Roemer said Singh lacked allies because he was a "great believer" in communicating with Islamabad -- in contrast to the then national security adviser M.K. Narayanan.