WASHINGTON: The United States has acknowledged that Pakistan is taking serious steps to help India apprehend the conspirators behind the terrorist strike at the Pathankot Air Force base.
In a statement issued on Monday, the US State Department encouraged Pakistan and India to work bilaterally to continue discussions and try to work through their problems.
“We are encouraged by the fact that the Pakistani government condemned Pathankot attack and investigating into it. Our expectation is that investigation will be thorough and complete and as transparent as possible.”
State Department spokesman John Kirby said Secretary of State John Kerry spoke to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over telephone last week about the need to continue dialogue between the two countries.
He said that Kerry "came away believing that the Pakistani government is serious about this particular incident, serious about investigating it, serious about trying to work with partners in the region, Afghanistan specifically."
Kirby said that, during the conversation between Sharif and Kerry, both leaders agreed to focus on war against terror in Pakistan and the entire region.
Commenting on the importance of the quadrilateral conference in Islamabad on Afghan peace, he said the US extends support for an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process as the surest way to end the violence and to ensure long and lasting stability in Afghanistan.