Washington:
The US would support Indo-Pak dialogue to find joint solutions to counter terrorism and to promote regional stability but would leave it to the two countries to chart their own course of action, a key Obama administration official for South Asia said on Thursday.
"India and Pakistan face common challenge and we will support continuing dialogue to find joint solutions to counter terrorism and to promote regional stability," Robert O Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, told US lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.
On the June 16 meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Blake said such high-level engagement after the Mumbai attack was encouraging.
"We will continue to support dialogue between Indian and Pakistani leaders. The timing, scope and content of any such dialogue are strictly matters for Pakistani and Indian leaders to decide," Blake said.
In his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia, Blake renewed US' commitment to deepen and strengthen strategic ties with India based on mutual respect and interest.
Noting that the recent visit of US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns paves the way for the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to India later this summer, Blake said the Indo-US relationship has been on a positive trajectory for over a decade.
"India and Pakistan face common challenge and we will support continuing dialogue to find joint solutions to counter terrorism and to promote regional stability," Robert O Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, told US lawmakers at a Congressional hearing.
On the June 16 meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on sidelines of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, Blake said such high-level engagement after the Mumbai attack was encouraging.
"We will continue to support dialogue between Indian and Pakistani leaders. The timing, scope and content of any such dialogue are strictly matters for Pakistani and Indian leaders to decide," Blake said.
In his testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and South Asia, Blake renewed US' commitment to deepen and strengthen strategic ties with India based on mutual respect and interest.
Noting that the recent visit of US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs William Burns paves the way for the visit of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to India later this summer, Blake said the Indo-US relationship has been on a positive trajectory for over a decade.
