WASHINGTON (APP) Pakistan has been the main victim of international terrorism and curbing militancy is in the South Asian countrys own interest, a senior American official said while also noting that a stable Pakistan is in the interests of both the United States and India. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake, in response to a question during a briefing, said the United States had welcomed the steps that Islamabad had taken thus far in, for example, the Swat Valley and South Waziristan but wanted to see progress in places like North Waziristan and against groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He said during his recent visit to India, President Barack Obama highlighted that Washington and New Delhi had shared interest in reducing tensions between the two neighbours. I think the president (Obama) was very clear that Pakistan itself has been the chief victim of international terrorism. And so its very much in its own interest to crack down on these groups, which increasingly are operating as a syndicate and its very difficult to really distinguish between them, Blake said at the Foreign Press Centre. During Obamas visit, he said, Pakistan was an important focus on the foreign policy side. The president welcomed dialogue between India and Pakistan and highlighted our shared interest in reducing tensions between India and Pakistan, and in a stable and more prosperous Pakistan. The diplomat said, The president, over the course of his three days, talked at great length about the importance of Pakistan, about the shared interests that the United States and India have in a stable and prosperous Pakistan, but also of the need for Pakistan to take concrete steps to address the terrorism that is emanating from its soil and to bring the perpetrators of the Mumbai attacks to justice as quickly as possible.