US endorses India, Pak dialogue

Endorsing parleys between Indian and Pakistan, the US has said that it is in the interest of the two South Asian neighbours to resolve their differences mutually through dialogue.

"We appreciate and certainly endorse increasing dialogue between Pakistan and India," the State Department spokesman P J Crowley, told reporters at his daily news conference.

"It is in, you know, their self-interest and our larger interest to see dialogue that can help to resolve, you know, tensions that exist between the two countries," Crowley said when asked about the talks between the Indian and Pakistani Foreign Secretary's and Home Ministers in Islamabad.

Home Minister P Chidambaram tonight met his Pakistani counterpart Rehman Malik. Chidambaram is the first Indian Home Minister to visit Pakistan in three decades.

Pakistan's Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir and his Indian counterpart Nirupama Rao yesterday exchanged proposals for addressing the issues constraining bilateral ties.