US building deeper ties with both India, Pak: Crowley

WASHINGTON: The US is building a deeper relationship with both India and Pakistan which are facing the common threat of terrorism in the region, a top Obama Administration official has said.

"It (terrorism) is a shared threat for Pakistan, it's a shared threat for India, it's a shared threat for others. I just would caution that we should not see this in zero-sum terms," Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P J Crowley, told reporters here.

He said the US is building "a deeper relationship" with India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. "This is good for the United States, it's good for these countries individually, and it's also good for the region as a whole."

Terming the US-Pak strategic dialogue, which took place here this week, as "very successful", he said the two sides "characterised a much different, much broader relationship based on mutual interest and mutual respect."

This can be seen in the memos of intent that were signed on Thursday in terms of rehabilitation of electricity projects and roads within Pakistan, he said.

The two-day dialogue, co-chaired by Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and Secretary of State Clinton, was the first ever at the Cabinet level, which concluded on Thursday with a joint statement in which the two countries pledged to joint work together against terrorists in the region.

At the conclusion of the strategic dialogue, the Pakistani delegation, including army chief Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, went to the White House for a meeting with Gen (Retd) James Jones, the US National Security Advisor.

"Jones hosted a meeting at the White House with Foreign Minister Mahmood Shah Qureshi, who has been leading a delegation of Pakistani senior government officials for meetings in Washington this week," White House spokesman Mike Hammer said.

"The meeting was the Foreign Minister's last in Washington before his departure and presented an opportunity for Gen Jones to recap the success of various bilateral engagements and office calls throughout the week," he said.

"Also joining the meeting were (Pakistan) Defence Minister (Ahmed Mukhtar), Chief of Army Staff and Pakistani Ambassador to the United States (Husain Haqqani).

"Vice President (Joe) Biden dropped by the meeting with Foreign Minister Qureshi and the delegation to express his appreciation for the progress made this week on issues of bilateral interest," Hammer said.