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Summary
US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake has urged India and Pakistan to boost bilateral ties with India, and hailed the latter for significant progress in the war on terror but called for strong action against various Taliban groups in the Punjab still needs to be taken.Responding to a question regarding Pak-India ties, Blake said that US would not intervene to mediate dialogue between the two countries on the issues of Kashmir and water until both the countries ask the US to do it. However, US would help Pakistan in building water storage capacity and also make water use more efficient, he added. He said it was also wrong to presume that India and Pakistan could not progress on Kashmir issue unless some international players were not included in the process. He said in 2004 both the countries made significant progress in talks on all the issues including Kashmir. Blake said if Pakistan felt that India was not fulfilling its obligations on the water issue, Pakistan should take its case to Independent Arbitration Commission set up under Indus Basin Water Treaty. Blake said during his discussion with Pakistani authorities he did not ask Islamabad to handover Hafiz Saeed to India. However, he pressed Pakistani authorities to continue legal proceedings against those who were involved in Mumbai attacks because it would help building confidence between India, Pakistan and United States as well.
