Clinton lauds Pak-India dialogue, hopes India will support Pakistani anti-terror efforts

Applauding the resumption of dialogue between Pakistan and India, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary ClintonHillary Clinton Wednesday has voiced the hope that New Delhi would support the Pakistani anti-terrorism efforts. “Of course, we believe that India and Pakistan actually face a number of common challenges, and we welcome a dialogue between them, she said addressing a meeting of the US-India Business Council.

“As we have said before, the pace, scope and character of that dialogue is something that Indian and Pakistani leaders will decide on their own terms and in their own time,” she stated a day after Pakistani President Asif Ali ZardariAsif Ali Zardari and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan SinghManmohan Singh decided to resume bilateral talks at the level of foreign secretaries. The chief U.S. diplomat acknowledged Islamabad’s efforts against terrorism on its soil.

“But as Pakistan now works to take on the challenge of terrorists in its own country, I am confident that India as well as the United States will support those efforts.” The State Department, earlier, said Washington always welcomes better relations between the two South Asian nuclear powers.

“A resumption of such high-level engagement in the aftermath of the November Mumbai attacks is encouraging. We have said before that India and Pakistan need to continue their dialogue to find joint solutions against terrorism and to promote regional stability,” State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said. In her speech, Clinton observed that the United States and India should expand their broader security relationship and increase cooperation on counterterrorism and intelligence sharing.

“As you know, America faced an extraordinary challenge ourselves after 9/11: how to organize as a government and a people to better prevent and prepare for future attacks. India faces that same terrible challenge, and the president and I are committed to working with India in whatever way is appropriate to enhance India’s ability to protect itself.” The two countries, she stressed, should also work to realize a vision of a nuclear-free world.

“The civil nuclear agreement helped us get over our defining disagreement, and I believe it can and should also serve as the foundation of a productive partnership on nonproliferation.”