Recognizing Kashmir as “one of the most sensitive” issues in Pakistan-India peace dialogue, the United States has hailed the recent progress the two South Asian neighbors have made to pave the way for improved relations. Assistant Secretary of State for Central and South Asia Robert Blake hoped for continued progress in the Islamabad-New Delhi peace process and noted that better trade and economic ties between Pakistan and India augur well for regional peace and development.
“Let me say how encouraged we are by recent steps taken by the governments of India and Pakistan to initiate closer trade and commercial ties,” the U.S. official said in an interaction hosted by the Foreign Press Center. Blake spoke in the backdrop of recent peace parleys between Pakistani foreign minister Hina Rabbani Khar and her Indian counterpart S M Krishna in Islamabad, where the two countries agreed to ease visa processing for citizens.