United States Secretary of State John Kerry has asked Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to cooperate with India's inquiry into Sunday's attack on the Indian Army base in Uri, Jammu and Kashmir. The two leaders met on the sidelines of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly, where Kerry "urged Pakistani cooperation in the investigation", a State Department official said on Wednesday, according to PTI.

The spokesperson further said that the US was waiting for more information on who orchestrated the Uri terror attack and had offered to assist India with the investigation. US Deputy Secretary of State Anthony Blinken conveyed US' offer to help in a phone call to India's Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, Hindustan Times reported. Kerry had earlier asked Nawaz Sharif to "prevent all terrorists" from using the country's territory as a safe haven.

Advertisement

The news of Kerry's push of Pakistan's cooperation in the case came as Sharif claimed that India had posed "unacceptable preconditions" for a dialogue to resolve the Kashmir dispute, while Pakistan was willing to hold discussions. In his address at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, he praised Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani – whose killing on July 8 had triggered statewide protests in Kashmir – and called him a leader. Sharif did not make any reference to the Uri attack, in which 18 Indian soldiers were killed, in his speech.

His address came amid diplomatic efforts from India to isolate Pakistan in the aftermath of the Uri attack, including encouraging other South Asian nations to single out the country as a source of terrorism. United States legislators have also introduced a Bill in the House of Representatives, seeking a terror tag for Pakistan. India believes Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed orchestrated the attack on the Uri base. Pakistan, however, refuted the accusation and asked for "actionable evidence" to prove it.