John Kerry

Treaty on Monday, India decided to pull out of thesaarcsummitinislamabadinnovember. And on Thursday, New Delhi is to review the Most Favoured Nation status to Pakistan.

While the US is watching the diplomatic, politicalandeconomicresponsesbynewdelhi very carefully, sources said there is appreciationthattheindiansidehasactedwitha“lotof restraint” following the Uri attack.

Afterpakistanprimeministernawazsharif met Kerry last week, US State Department Deputyspokespersonmarktonersaid:“we’ve seensomeprogress;wewanttoseemore,and I think moving forward we’ll just continue to work closely and try to encourage greater counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan but also within the region.”

State Department Spokesperson John Kirby stated later that Kerry “reiterated the need for Pakistan to prevent all terrorists from using Pakistani territory as safe havens, while commending recent efforts by Pakistani security forces to counter extremist violence.”

A readout of the meeting issued by the Pakistan embassy in New York revealed that Sharif had requested the “US Administration and Secretary Kerry to use his good offices to help in resolving bilateral issues between Pakistan and India.” Kerry met Sharif on the sidelines of the UNGA.

Onwednesday,tonersaid:“whatwehave said many times from the podium is that we want to see closer and normalisation of relationship between India and Pakistan. It would benefit the region. We want to see de-escalationinthepoliticaldiscoursebetweenthetwo countriesandgreatercommunicationandcoordination between them.” Toner said.

Thestatedepartmentrefrainedfromcommenting on India’s decision to pull out of the SAARC Summit. “I would refer you to the Government of India to comment on their decision not to attend this meeting,” Toner said.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said the US had continued to “encourage India and Pakistan to find ways to resolve their differences, not through violence, but through diplomacy”.