US backs Indo-Pak talks
The US will support Indo-Pak dialogue to find joint solutions to counter terrorism and to promote regional stability but will leave it to the two countries to chart their own course of action, a key Obama administration for South Asia said on Thursday.
“India and Pakistan face a common challenge and we will support continuing dialogue to find joint solutions to counter terrorism and to promote regular stability,” Robert O. Blake, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, told US lawmakers at a Congressional hearing. The recent Singh Zardari meeting, he said, was encouraging.
Earlier in Pakistan, US national security adviser James Jones said the Obama administration will help in “every possible way” to settle the Kashmir problem and to resume the stalled Indo-Pak dialogue. Responding to Islamabad’s request for assistance in resolving the “core issue” with New Delhi, he said, “The US would help in every possible way for the resumption of dialogue between Pakistan and India for resolution of the Kashmir dispute and water distribution.”
