US urges India, Pakistan to resume talks

WASHINGTON: The United States urged India and Pakistan on Wednesday to resume formal talks.

Responding to a query, a US State Department official told Dawn that Washington believed the entire South Asian region would benefit from reduction of tensions between India and Pakistan.

“We encourage India and Pakistan to resume formal dialogue,” the official said.

Asked if the US welcomed a recent meeting between Indian and Pakistani prime ministers in Paris, the official said: “As has long been the case, the United States believes India and Pakistan – not to mention the region – stand to benefit from practical cooperation.”

Also read: US urged to revive India-Pakistan talks

The official recalled that the US had always encouraged both sides to resume dialogue aimed at reducing tensions.

Prime Ministers Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi shook hands and sat down to talk to each other on Monday on the sidelines of a climate conference in Paris.

When asked at a State Department news briefing to comment on the Sharif-Modi meeting, deputy spokesman Mark Toner said he didn’t have anything specific on the meeting but “we always welcome these kinds of exchanges and dialogue between India and Pakistan”.

He said that a constructive relationship between the two countries was not only good for the two countries but also good for entire South Asia and for stability in that region.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2015