WASHINGTON: The United States has encouraged Pakistan and India to adopt a more conciliatory approach and resolve contentious issues in the larger interest of regional peace.
At a briefing in the State Department, Spokesman Mark Toner said the both countries should work out a solution to Kashmir issue. He said the US would like to see greater cooperation and greater dialogue between Pakistan and India.
“We want to see tensions go down, and we want to see, as I said, a greater cooperation between the two countries. Now, we’re not there right now, but that’s certainly our inclination,” the spokesman said.
When asked about the recent visit of the special envoys of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Jammu and Kashmir and their demand that human rights violations should be included in the US State Department annual report, Toner said, “We certainly will look into any credible allegations of human rights abuses wherever they occur,” he said but added that he could not speak to whether these particular abuses will find their way into the report or not. “That’s part of the process for compiling the report.”
To a question on peace in Afghanistan, the spokesman said it was in the interests of both India and Pakistan to see a stable, secure Afghanistan emerge from the years of fighting. Speaking on the prevailing situation in Afghanistan, he said it had been a difficult season and the situation in Helmand was of a particular concern. “The Taliban remain a very resilient insurgency to this date and they have continued to challenge the Afghan government forces,” he said. He said the latest attack in Helmand was just another example and another effort by the Taliban to create and sow instability and undermine the progress that the country had made over the past 15 years. “Thus far, while the Afghan security forces have certainly been challenged, they’ve held the line and they’ve performed remarkably well,” he added. However, he said the United States wants to see an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace process, which still remained the best way to bring about a stable and prosperous future for Afghanistan.
.jpg)