The U.S’s relations with India and Pakistan are not a zero-sum compact and it has interests in both countries, a State Department spokesperson said. The remarks came just hours after after External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj sought to corner Pakistan for supporting global terrorism and oppressing its Baloch minority community, in her address to the U.N. General Assembly. In his speech last week, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had accused India of human rights abuses in Jammu and Kashmir.
The U.S has “seen the rhetoric, heard the rhetoric,” spokesperson Mark C. Toner said when asked about how these statements by India and Pakistan may impact the situation in the region. “I think our long-standing position is that we believe India and Pakistan really stand to benefit from the normalisation of relations between them and practical cooperation between them, and we encourage both India and Pakistan to pursue and engage in direct dialogue that is aimed at reducing tensions,” he said.
Enhancing capabilityAsked for the comments on the ongoing first ever Russia-Pakistan military exercise, Mr. Toner said that was not an indication of any Great Game in South Asia.
“Look, we’ve long said with regard to Pakistan, with regard to India, with regard to the region, there’s no zero-sum game here,” he said. “….if the insinuation is that there’s some kind of tit-for-tat or Great Game being played out here, that’s not at all the case.”
Asked to comment on recent moves in the U.S. to have Pakistan declared a state sponsor of terrorism, Mr. Toner said: “Our focus with Pakistan is to enhance their capability, as I just said, to deal with a terrorist threat on their soil. They’re fighting a serious and sustained campaign against violent extremism. We do believe that they’re making progress..
