WASHINGTON, July 7: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Foreign Minister Khurshid Kasuri on Thursday and assured him that the United States would remain responsive to Pakistan’s security concerns.

A statement issued in Islamabad said the two leaders reviewed the situation in Iraq and Mr Kasuri told Ms Rice that while Pakistan had temporarily withdrawn its ambassador from Baghdad, the country’s embassy remained open.

With the reported slaying of the Egyptian envoy in Baghdad, there were speculations here that Pakistan might withdraw its senior diplomatic staff from the Iraqi capital.

The statement indicates that Secretary Rice might have urged Mr Kasuri to maintain Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in Baghdad.

Mr Kasuri also discussed the US-India defence agreement with the secretary, emphasizing the need to maintain military balance in South Asia and not to inject new and advanced weapon systems which could destabilize the security situation in the region, it said.

Ms Rice assured Mr Kasuri that the US understood Pakistan’s security concerns and was also aware of the fact that Pakistan was both a ‘key strategic ally’ and a major non-Nato ally, it said.

The foreign minister told Secretary Rice that Islamabad remained committed to resolving all outstanding issues with New Delhi, including Kashmir, through the peace process.

Mr Kasuri assured her that Pakistan would continue to support the efforts of President Hamid Karzai’s government to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan, particularly in the context of the upcoming parliamentary elections.