AP, Islamabad :
US Secretary of State John Kerry Tuesday urged India and Pakistan to move their relationship forward through dialogue, saying the U.S. was concerned about recent violence along their disputed border.
Kerry’s comments came during a press conference in Islamabad Tuesday with the Pakistani prime minister’s foreign policy adviser, Sartaj Aziz.
The disputed Kashmir region has been a source of sharp tension between Pakistan and India since they both became independent in 1947. Two of the three wars they have fought have been about Kashmir, a region they both claim. Tensions spiked in late December and early January with both sides accusing the other of firing across the de-facto border that separates the two sides of Kashmir.
Thousands of villagers in the Indian-controlled portion of Kashmir fled their homes, and at least a dozen people were killed.
“We continue to be deeply concerned by the recent spate of increased violence,” Kerry said. “It is profoundly in the interests of Pakistan and India to move this relationship forward.”
But Aziz appeared in no mood for such a step. He accused India of wanting to have talks only on its own terms and asked the U.S. to push the Indian side on the matter.
India and Pakistan agreed to resume talks on improved relations in May when Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif attended the inauguration of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But an announcement by Pakistan’s ambassador to India to meet with Kashmiri separatists in New Delhi angered India and it called off the talks.
Aziz said Tuesday that India’s cancellation of the talks and recent incidents of “unprovoked” firing by India “are a source of serious concern to us” and “a signal that India wants to de-emphasize a serious discussion on Kashmir.”
“We hope that the United States … can prevail upon India to work with Pakistan on regional peace and economic prosperity,” he said.
Kerry Praises Pakistan Military Operation, Re-Opening Of Peshawar School
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday praised the Pakistani military’s operation against militants in the country’s northwest, saying the results are “significant.”
His comments came during a meeting in Islamabad with Sartaj Aziz, the Pakistani prime minister’s adviser on foreign affairs.
Pakistan launched a major operation in the North Waziristan region in June. The U.S. had long advocated for such an operation because the region had become a hub for militant groups who attack targets in both Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan and a source of tension between the U.S., Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The current operations “in the northwest have disrupted militant activities in the tribal areas and resulted in important seizures of weapons,” Kerry said. “The operation is not yet complete but already the results are significant. Pakistani soldiers and their commanders deserve enormous credit.”
Kerry also announced that $250 million in previously appropriated money will be given to emergency relief efforts in the tribal areas, mainly North Waziristan. Hundreds of thousands of people fled the area due to the fighting.
Kerry also praised the reopening Monday of the school in Peshawar where Taliban gunmen on Dec. 16 slaughtered students and teachers in one of the country’s worst terrorist attacks. Kerry called it a testament to the resolve of the Pakistani people.
Meanwhile, the US is set to step up its security and intelligence efforts as the Pakistani government moves against militants in its restive northwest, top diplomat John Kerry said Tuesday on a visit after a shocking school massacre.
Pakistan began a full-scale offensive against Taliban and other militants in the North Waziristan tribal district in June, a long standing demand of Washington which had for years called for action against groups that used the region to launch cross-border attacks against US troops in neighbouring Afghanistan.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Pakistan’s national security advisor Sartaj Aziz, Kerry said Pakistan deserved “enormous credit” for the operation but warned the task was not yet complete.
