India more important than Pakistan for US, says official

A senior US official has categorically said that India is a more important ally for them than Pakistan with a long-term perspective.

Washington, Oct 31 : A senior US official has categorically said that India is a more important ally for them than Pakistan with a long-term perspective.

''India simply must, as a long term consideration, matter more for us than Pakistan,'' James Clad, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for South and Southeast Asia, was quoted by The News as telling a group of journalists in a conference call from Pentagon.

Clad added that this was true even as Pakistan is leading from the front in the US-led global war against terrorism.

Referring to the growth of the Indian economy in the past one decade and in other fields too, he said India is seen by the US as a potentially a power with global reach.

He went on to give details of the growing defence relationship between the two countries - be it the joint Indo-US military exercise, visit of the USS Nimitz to Chennai, giving refurbished USS Trenton to India or increasing economic relationship, the daily reported.

With the prospects of the opening of India's defence sector, as many as 52 American defence corporations have opened their offices in India, including the top names like Boeing, Lockheed Martin and General Electrical.

ANI