Washington: The United States has welcomed the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan in Islamabad next month as part of the process to normalise ties between the South Asian neighbours.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher yesterday (Jan 28, 2004) said the US had always encouraged discussions between India and Pakistan on Kashmir and all other issues.

"That kind of dialogue is something we have always supported and encouraged as well," he said.

India and Pakistan said on Tuesday that the composite dialogue, announced during Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's visit to Pakistan earlier this month, would resume with Joint Secretary-level talks on February 16 and 17 and parleys between their Foreign Secretaries on February 18.

On Pakistani investigations into alleged nuclear proliferation by its scientists to Iran and Libya, Boucher said, "We have welcomed the investigations the Pakistani Government is conducting. We think they've shown how high a priority it is for the (Pervez) Musharraf Government to make sure that Pakistan is not cooperating in any way or that Pakistan's sensitive nuclear assets don't fall into the wrong hands. So that is something we have been welcoming.

"I think that we have seen a very firm commitment from President Musharraf on making sure that their assets and expertise don't fall into the wrong hands, and we now see them conducting an investigation. So I can't draw any conclusions yet, but that is the kind of commitment that we have seen," Boucher said.