Senator John Kerry, head of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Friday urged bolstering US economic and security assistance for Pakistan towards defeating violent extremism along the Afghan border and also favoured resumption of Pakistan-India peace process in the interest of regional stability. Kerry, who recently returned from a South Asian visit, said in view of Pakistan's key importance to the US interests in the region and the challenges confronting the country, he would strive for swift passage of a Congressional measure to authorise a three-fold expansion in economic assistance for the country. "We must work assiduously to help Pakistan and India to find a path back to the bilateral peace talks which were disrupted by the Mumbai attacks."