US pledges vital strategic relationship with Pakistan

WASHINGTON: The United States has strong relationships with both Pakistan and India and going forward Washington would continue to have a close strategic partnership with Islamabad, the State Department said Friday.
“We have assured both countries that the Untied States relationship with India and United States relationship with Pakistan, those relationships are strong, they are vital for our strategic interest, and they stand on their own,” Spokesperson Jen Psaki said replying to a question at the daily briefing.
“We work with Pakistan on a range of issues. We work with India on a range of issues,” she added, when asked about Washington’s ties in South Asia in the wake of President Barak Obama’s visit to New Delhi.
Responding to a question about Pakistan’s concerns regarding the impact of operationalization of the U.S.-India civil nuclear deal on the strategic stability in the region, the spokesperson noted that “this particular issue (of civil nuclear deal) is one that has been ongoing for some time.”
“But we certainly have reiterated our strong commitment to strategic relationship with Pakistan. As you know, Secretary (of State John Kerry) was there just a couple of weeks ago, visiting and reiterating our commitment (to close ties).”
The spokesperson echoed Washington’s call for the two South Asian nuclear countries to enter into a dialogue for peaceful resolution to issues.“We encourage dialogue between India and Pakistan,” and obviously the scope and scale of the process is for the two countries to determine, she said.