Reducing Indo-Pak tension quietly 'very high priority' for Obama Administration

Washington, Apr.30 (ANI): Reducing heightened tension between India and Pakistan remains as a 'very high priority' for President Barack Obama and his administration, a US official has said.

Testifying before a Congressional hearing here, US' Special Envoy to Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Hollbrooke's deputy Paul Jones said the Obama Administration is working to be as supportive as it can to normalise the relationship between the two South-Asian neighbours.

"It's certainly a very high priority for the President, for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, for this administration, to be as supportive as we can in reducing tensions between India and Pakistan," The News quoted Jones, as saying.

"It's a very complex situation and ... it's very clear that our support is best done in a quiet fashion in just encouraging the process and offering the support to the parties that we can," he added.

He underlined that reduction in tension between India and Pakistan would mean that Islamabad would be able to focus more on fighting the Taliban and Al-Qaeda inside its territory, thus enabling the US led allied forces to take on the insurgents with more force.

Assistant Secretary of State Philip Crowley added that the US would support any level of deliberation between New Delhi and Islamabad, as it would ultimately prove beneficial for the region.

"Anytime they can get together at high-level to start the dialogue, that is good for the region and we support it," Crowley said. (ANI)