WASHINGTON  - A top White House official has said despite the tough phase, Washington has been able to ‘sustain’ its relationship with Islamabad. He said the US ‘needs’ Islamabad on the table as it discusses the future of the region.
The official told a group of journalists on condition of anonymity that India and Pakistan have taken constructive steps to improve bilateral ties and the US, though not directly involved in brokering the process, is incredibly supportive of any efforts by them to expand their relations. ‘We are incredibly supportive of any efforts the Indians and Pakistanis take to engage in dialogue to expand their relations’, the official said.
The comments came in response to a question about the recent efforts of India and Pakistan to improve their relationship, especially in the business and economic field.
‘We think that both sides have taken constructive steps in that direction’, the official, a confidant of US President Barack Obama said. In the first 100 days of coming to power, President Obama had expressed his desire to use diplomatic tools to improve relationship between India and Pakistan.
Nearly three years later, Obama administration officials expressed satisfaction over the steps being initiated by Indian and Pakistani leaders.
‘They have the full support of the United States. And we are not going to be able to be the ones to come in and broker, broker some type of agreement, given the longstanding issues at hand’, the White House official said.