Islamabad: Maintaining that the US was supportive of the "improvement" in the Indo-Pak ties, American Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca today (Oct 19, 2004) said she was encouraged by the progress made in the relations between the two neighbours.

Rocca, who wound up her three-day visit to Pakistan after holding talks with President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri, said she was encouraged by the progress in the relations between India and Pakistan.

The United States is supportive of the "improvement" in the Pakistan-India relations, Rocca, who will travel to New Delhi tomorrow, told reporters at the US embassy.

During her talks with the Pakistani leadership, Rocca assured them of the US commitment to a long-term strategic relationship with Pakistan and the multi-year US economic and Defence package was one manifestation of this, an official statement said.

The two sides also discussed the war against terrorism, Pakistan's efforts to flush out al-Qaeda militants from its tribal belt and UN reforms. Islamabad is believed to have expressed its opposition to India's bid for a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council during the talks.

Kasuri, during his meeting with Rocca, expressed the hope that the composite dialogue with India would help resolve all outstanding issues, including Kashmir, the statement said.