'US helping AfPak fight terror, boosting India strategic ties'

Requesting USD 742 million in aid to Pakistan, Secretary of State John Kerry today told lawmakers that the Obama administration is helping Afghanistan and Pakistan fight terrorism and is deepening strategic dialogue with India.
"We are helping Afghanistan and Pakistan to counter violent extremism, deepening our strategic dialogue with India, supporting democratic gains in Sri Lanka and Burma and encouraging the peaceful resolution of competing maritime claims in the South China Sea, a goal that is definitely not helped by the militarisation of facilities in that region," Kerry told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing on the annual budget of the Obama administration.

In his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Kerry said the State Department has requested USD 742 million in aid to Pakistan to support its citizens as they seek security, build democracy and sustain economic growth and development - even as the country continues to suffer from terrorist attacks.
"Last October, I travelled to every state in Central Asia to reaffirm America's friendship with the people in that part of the world and to discuss shared concerns in such areas as security, energy policy, development, and human rights," he said.
"Also in 2015, we strongly endorsed democratic progress in Sri Lanka, while elevating our important strategic dialogue with India to include a commercial component, reflecting the five-fold increase in bilateral trade over the last decade," Kerry said.