WASHINGTON: US president Donald Trump said on Friday that he can understand India is looking for a "very strong" response following the Pulwama attacked claimed by Pakistani terrorist group, while characterizing the situation in the subcontinent as "very dangerous."Trump also disclosed the US and other nations are involved in the process of defusing the situation, an intervention that was evident in Islamabad where senior American officials have been in discussions with the Pakistani government over actions it can take to address its military's chronic pursuit of terrorism as a policy.It was the third time in a week that Washington has indicated that it is aware of the strong feelings in India following the Pulwama attack while acknowledging New Delhi has the right to self-defense.Earlier in the week, US National Security Advisor John Bolton spoke to his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval twice on phone following the attack to offer condolences and express support for an Indian response in “self-defense,” an open ended term that allows New Delhi to fashion its own answer to Pakistani provocation.By characterising any Indian retaliation as self-defense, the Trump administration is effectively calling out Pakistan for the attack.Trump too indicated he empathized with India."India is looking at something very strong. India just lost almost 50 people in the attack. I can understand that too," he said, adding that his administration was talking to authorities in both countries. "We're talking. A lot of people are. It's going to be a very, very delicate balance. There is a lot of problems between India and Pakistan because of what just happened."The international community has also gotten behind New Delhi. On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council on virtually identified India as a victim of terrorism emanating from Pakistan and asked member states to cooperate actively with New Delhi to bring the perpetrators of the Pulwama attack to justice.Although, the statement did not explicitly name Pakistan, it identified the Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed, which bragged about the attack and whose leader remains free and protected by Pakistani state, while directly asking member states to “to cooperate actively with the Government of India and all other relevant authorities in this regard."The statement also identified the place of the attack as “Jammu and Kashmir,” India’s official term for a state of the union, rather than other appellations used by Pakistan.“The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security," the statement said, adding that any "acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivation, wherever, whenever and by whomsoever committed.”Pakistan has often rationalized terrorism and acts of violence in Jammu and Kashmir perpetrated by its terrorist groups and accomplices inside India to be fallout of India’s human rights excesses.Just the previous day, Pakistan’s ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi had met Secretary General Antonio Gutterres and argued that the Pulwama incident “reinforces the need to address the root cause of violence in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and to find a peaceful solution to the longstanding dispute in accordance with several UN Security Council resolutions.”The most significant UN resolution 47 relating to Kashmir actually directs Pakistan to withdraw from the portion of Jammu and Kashmir that it has occupied - something Pakistani officials are loath to recall - as the first step in a three-step process.Lodhi also argued that “India's no-talk posture is not only irresponsible, but it puts at stake, the peace and security of all of South Asia,” despite countries of the region, notably India, Afghanistan, and Iran, identifying Pakistan as the source of terrorism endangering peace in the region.