'India to continue its endeavour to normalise ties with Pak'

WASHINGTON: India will continue with its endeavour to normalise relationship with Pakistan, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai has said here, stressing that the future of Afghanistan and Pakistan is "inseparable" from the destiny of the country.

"The future of Afghanistan and Pakistan will continue to engage our two countries. Their future is inseparable from the destiny of India and our region, and, therefore, India has a vital stake in their stability and progress," Mathai told a Washington-based think-tank.

"With Pakistan, we will continue our endeavour to seek a peaceful, cooperative and normal relationship," he said in his remarks on "Building on Convergence: Deepening the India-US Strategic Partnership" at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).

In his speech, Mathai said over the past year, India and the US have had close consultation and coordination on their shared vision of a stable, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan.

"It is a vision that can only be realised by the people of Afghanistan, but they need the support, assistance, facilitation and sustained commitment of the international community," he said.

Mathai said the quest for a settlement in Afghanistan must ensure that the enormous sacrifices and efforts of the past decade are not in vain.