US welcomes thaw in Pakistan, India ties: State dept

Spokesperson Marie Harf says US was encouraged by resumption in dialogue

WASHINGTON: The US on Friday said it was "encouraged" by Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar's visit to Pakistan this week in a sign of thawing relations between the Islamabad and New Delhi.

Speaking to reporters during the daily briefing, US State Department Spokesperson Marie Harf said that the US welcomed the visit.

"We certainly were encouraged that they (India and Pakistan) decided to resume dialogue."

 

Read: Indo-Pak ties: Top diplomats fail to spring any surprises

 

Jaishankar's visit saw the first senior-level diplomatic interaction between the two nuclear tipped neighbours for the first time since prime ministers of India and Pakistan met in New Delhi last May.

While India maintained Jaishankar was in Pakistan as part of his visit to the Saarc member states, Pakistan saw this as resumption of the foreign secretary level talks from which its eastern neighbour had pulled out of last August.

"Both India and Pakistan stand to benefit from practical cooperation and an improved relationship," she said, adding that better ties would be "good for regional peace and stability in South Asia"

 

"In general, obviously, we (US) think cooperation is a good thing."

 

Read: Islamabad rendezvous: Pakistan dubs top diplomats’ meeting ‘icebreaker’

 

Earlier on Friday, Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs Sartaj Aziz said that while Jaishankar's visit helps set the mood for future negotiations, it had failed to provide any breakthrough.