Washington: Asserting that it has sought to foster reconciliation between India and Pakistan, the United States has said peace between the two nations would help calm the extremist impulses in the region.

"We have sought to foster reconciliation between India and Pakistan," US Assistant Secretary of State Christina Rocca told the House International Relations Committee yesterday (Aug 19, 2004).

She said that peace, if it can be achieved between these two long-time rivals, would do much to calm extremist impulses in the region.

Rooting for a long-term US commitment to Pakistan in its struggle against extremism, Rocca said President George W Bush's requested $ 600 million-per-year aid for Islamabad was critical "to build a society in which extremism cannot flourish."

Bush, in June 2003, made a five-year commitment to Pakistan of $ 600 million per year, evenly divided between military and economic assistance.

Rocca, who is in charge of South Asian affairs in the State Department, noted Pakistan's "effective" operations against al-Qaeda operatives in the country as well as along the border with Afghanistan.

Observing that Pakistani action against terror operatives had provided valuable information of threats and plots against the US, she said counter terrorism efforts should be combined with sound policies to revive Pakistan's economy.

"The Pakistani economy will have to maintain its current growth rate for years if it is to reduce poverty significantly and give ordinary Pakistanis genuine hope for a better life," she said.