WASHINGTON: The US State Department has said that Washington supports direct talks between Pakistan and India but will not tell them how to conduct those dialogs. At the regular press briefing in Washington, spokesperson Matthew Miller also emphasized a strong counterterrorism partnership with Islamabad, stating that both sides are committed to maintaining this relationship.
Responding to a question regarding recent interactions between Pakistan and India, the spokesperson said, “We value our important relationships with both Pakistan and India. As we have said, we support direct discussions between Pakistan and India. The pace, scope, and character should be determined by them and not us,”.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif initiated the step by sending a congratulatory message to Indian PM on a third straight election win and expressed the desire to improve sour relations between the two neighbouring countries.
He also commented on a recent statement by Pakistan’s US envoy Masood Khan, who pointed out that banned TTP terrorists were using American weapons against Pakistan, acquired in Afghanistan. He urged the US to provide arms to Pakistan to effectively combat these terrorists.
“The US and Pakistan have a shared interest in combating threats to regional security,” said Miller when asked to comment on the envoy’s statement. “We partner with Islamabad in security through our high-level counterterrorism talks, including several counterterrorism capacity-building programmes, and we support a series of US-Pakistan military-to-military engagements,” he said.
The US, he said, also maintains regular communication with Pakistani leaders as part of a bilateral partnership on counterterrorism.
