‘US will be supportive if conditions created for Pak-India talks’

ISLAMABAD: The US will be “very supportive” if conditions can be created for productive talks between Pakistan and India, a senior Trump administration official said, underlining that Washington understands New Delhi’s position that “demonstrable reduction” in cross-border terrorism would create the confidence for such a dialogue, international media reported.

The US welcomes the positive messages that were exchanged between Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and “how the two governments can build on what is already existing structures, whether it’s the national security adviser dialogue or the DGMO channel or the people-to-people ties that have been sustained through the bus service,” Alice Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia told reporters during a conference call on Monday.

On August 20, Prime Minister Modi had sent a letter to PM Imran Khan, conveying that New Delhi was looking for constructive and meaningful engagement with Islamabad. Imran also expressed Pakistan’s willingness to re-start the stalled Pakistan-India peace process and said the two countries must engage in dialogue to resolve their differences, including the Kashmir issue, and start trade.

To a question, Wells said in general the US supports a dialogue between India and Pakistan that can reduce tensions. “We understand and have had frequent conversations with our Indian partners on the expectations that there would be a demonstrable reduction in cross border terrorism or infiltration that will help create the confidence for a dialogue to take place,” she said. “If conditions can be created for a productive bilateral conversation, obviously we would be very supportive,” Wells said. She said the US had sent a two-pronged message to Pakistan: a desire to engage constructively and an emphasis on the need for Pakistan to implement its promises to fight all terrorist groups.

The India-Pakistan ties nosedived in recent years with no bilateral talks taking place. The relationship came under a strain after the 2016 terror attacks in India for which Pakistan based groups were accused by New Delhi.

The sentencing of an Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav to death by a Pakistani military court in April last year further deteriorated the bilateral ties. The two sides often accuse each other of ceasefire violations along the Line of Control, resulting in civilian casualties.