WASHNGTON, July 18: The US State Department acknowledged on Friday that Pakistan, Afghanistan and the United States had differences on the findings of an investigation into an attack on a Pakistani outpost early this month.

Spokesman Sean McCormack recalled that recently both Afghanistan and Pakistan cooperated with each other and with the Americans during a joint investigation into an incident that caused the death of 11 Pakistani soldiers.

“This was a cooperative effort. And while, you know, the findings differed, the outcomes were agreed upon,” he said.

Mr McCormack said that both Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed to increase the resources dedicated to personnel on both sides of the border for manning these outposts and improving communications.

They also agreed to “help better delineate and demarcate the border in terms of agreeing upon where the line is and ways to monitor that line,” he added.

“So that’s just one small example in which there is cooperation that is ongoing there.”

The US official acknowledged that the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was difficult and it’s tough to control that border. “And there are issues on the Pakistani side; there are issues on the Afghan side. And we are helping both sides work through those issues,” he said.

Asked if the US-led alliance against terrorism in South Asia could fall apart because of differences between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Mr McCormack said: “I would expect that the communications between the Afghans and the Pakistanis will continue.”

He told a briefing in Washington that the United States was also working ‘intensively’ with Pakistan to remove differences on issues like fighting terrorism and security.

The United States had no problem dealing with the Pakistani government over the past several years, “no matter who is sitting in what chair,” said the spokesman when asked if a change of government in Islamabad has made it difficult for the Americans to deal with Pakistan.