WASHINGTON, April 4: Political reforms in Pakistan are not only good for the country but also beneficial for US interests in the region, says the US State Department.

The department’s spokesman, Sean McCormack, described a recent visit to Pakistan by a high-level US delegation as important for promoting a better relationship between the two nations allied in the fight against terrorism.

On Thursday, the department’s deputy spokesman Tom Casey told a briefing in Washington that the United States wanted to go beyond the war on terror and looked for cooperation in other fields as well.

“We are looking forward to being able to continue our cooperation and work with Pakistan on a variety of issues from the fight against extremism to economic and political development, and continuing the democratic process there,” he said.

Two senior US diplomats -- Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher -- arrived in Islamabad on March 25, the day the new prime minister took oath of his office.

The timing was criticised both in Pakistan and the United States where experts said that scheduling the visit hours after the oath sent a wrong signal to the Pakistanis who felt that the United States was trying to persuade the new government to continue the Musharraf government’s policies.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, however, clarified that the timing was “coincidental” and hoped that because of the close ties between the two nations, the Pakistanis would understand that it was only a friendly gesture.

Both Mr McCormack and Mr Casey tackled this issue in their statement as well, noting that the visit gave the two US officials an opportunity to meet President Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari, and PML-N chief Nawaz Sharif.

The meetings, however, should not been seen as an interference in Pakistan’s internal politics because the US had no desire to do so, he said.