WASHINGTON, Feb 19: The United States believes that both India and Pakistan have genuine interests in Afghanistan, says the US State Department.

Briefing journalists on a policy speech by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in New York on Friday, the department's spokesman P.J. Crowley said: “We have a regional approach. India has an interest and (has) invested in Afghanistan. So is Pakistan. So are other countries in the region.” Secretary Clinton welcomed the resumption of dialogue between India and Pakistan, noting that it augured well for the entire region.

“We look to them --- and all of Afghanistan's neighbours --- to respect Afghanistan's sovereignty, which means agreeing not to play out their rivalries within its borders, and to support reconciliation and efforts to ensure that Al Qaeda and the syndicate of terrorism is denied safe haven everywhere,” she said.

“Afghanistan, in turn, must not allow its territory to be used against others,” said the top US diplomat in an indirect reference to Pakistan's claim that India was using Afghan territory to stir troubles in Balochistan.

The secretary's statement “reinforced” America's regional approach to the Afghan conflict, Mr Crowley said. The State Department spokesman said that the United States was now making an intensified diplomatic push to bring the Afghan conflict to an end.