'US will not play a role in Kashmir dispute'

The United States wishes to support Pakistan whilst striking a balance with its growing ties to India.

WASHINGTON: The US special envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, says the United States does not want to play a third party role in the Kashmir dispute.

Speaking in Washington, Holbrooke urged India and Pakistan to find a solution through mutual dialogue.

Crossing over to the US-Pakistan dialogue, he said President Zardari’s visit to the US next year will be another step forward in the two’s relationship.

Talking about nuclear technology cooperation with Pakistan, Holbrooke said the US is aware of Pakistan's strategic goals.

About the China-Pakistan nuclear deal, Holbrooke said the US has asked for more information on the arrangement.

The United States on Friday plans a public show of support for uneasy war partner Pakistan including potential new military aid, as it tries to strike a balance with its growing ties to India. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Friday will lead a third and final day of a "strategic dialogue" with Pakistan, an initiative by President Barack Obama's administration to demonstrate long-term assistance

State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said that the United States did not see relations between the two nations, which have fought three full-fledged wars since independence in 1947, as a "zero-sum game."

"Just as we are committed to our relationship with Pakistan and we'll help as an ally and friend provide assistance to Pakistan, we are also a committed ally and friend of India, and we are in discussions with India about assistance," Crowley told reporters. "I think this is all part of our efforts to try to achieve peace, security and stability in a very important part of the world," he said.

The Obama administration has voiced hope that India, the world's largest democracy, will become one of the top global partners of the United States in the decades to come. Pakistan has provided vital access to US forces in Afghanistan. India has begrudgingly accepted civilian aid to Islamabad but voiced fear that military assistance would be used against it. The United States in recent years has tried to delink relations between the two nations. Obama on Wednesday met the Pakistani delegation to the dialogue and promised to visit in 2011, but not on the sidelines of his first presidential trip to India.