Improved Indo-Pak Relations Will Help Fight Terror: US

Welcoming India’s proposal for a dialogue with Pakistan, the US has said that cooperation between the two neighbours can only help joint efforts on security in South Asia, including fight against terror, reported IANS.

“We have always encouraged dialogue between Pakistan and India,” State Department spokesman Philip J Crowley was quoted as saying. “Of course, this is a decision for both countries to make on their own.”

“But in our various discussions with leaders from Pakistan and India, we have long encouraged them to resume the kind of dialogue that the two countries have had at various times in the past,” he was quoted as saying.

In response to a query about the importance of improved relations between India and Pakistan for US operations in Afghanistan, Crowley was quoted as saying: “These are two very important countries. They are neighbours. They share a number of important interests – fighting terrorism on the one hand, encouraging trade on the other.”

“So, I think if we can – to the degree that India and Pakistan can cooperate – have peaceful dialogue, can develop opportunities between the countries, that can only help in the broader regional context, including, our joint efforts on security in South Asia,” he was quoted as saying.