Washington:
Hoping for better relations with India after the general elections, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said he would welcome any American help in improving Indo-Pak ties.
"I know they are busy at the moment. Democracies are always willing to work with democracies. I'm hoping for better relations," Zardari, who met President Barack Obama in Washington at a trilateral meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, said.
Obama, during his talks with Zardari, had bluntly told him that Pakistan needs to concentrate on security challenges within the Taliban-infested country rather than considering India as an "existential threat".
"I'm looking forward to a relationship with India after the elections," Zardari told reporters in response to a question at Capitol Hill, after his meetings with the leaders of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee along with Karzai.
He was flanked by Karzai, John Kerry, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its Ranking Member, Senator Richard Lugar.
"If our American friends can help us, they're welcome to," Zardari said responding to a question and added, "We always encourage help from all friends".
In his interview early this week with the CNN, Zardari had said that he is awaiting the formation of a new government in New Delhi to start a "fresh dialogue" with it. The two-day trilateral summit of the US, Afghanistan and Pakistan that concluded on Thursday, saw the presidents of the three countries pledging to work together to "defeat" al Qaeda and the Taliban from the region.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said "our friend" India should unconditionally support efforts by Islamabad to deal with the Taliban insurgency
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