This was said in a telephonic conversation with former President Asif Ali Zardari, where they also discussed a range of bilateral and international issues.
Two US Senators, Republican Ted Poe and Democrat Dana Rohrabacher, had moved the ‘Pakistan State Sponsor of Terrorism Designation Act’ to designate Pakistan a terrorist state in the US Congress.
However, McCain who is also the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee said that it was unlikely that the legislation would pass as the sponsors of the resolution are a small minority in the Senate.
McCain acknowledged the sacrifices made by Pakistan in the fight against terrorism, and emphasised that the legislation should not be seen as a deterioration of the US-Pakistan relations.
They also discussed the increase in the war of words and the hype in Indian propaganda against Pakistan, which Zardari said was to hide the Indian atrocities against Kashmiris from the world.
Zardari said that Pakistan wants a peaceful resolution of the Kashmir issue through dialogue and in accordance with the wishes of the people of Kashmir.
He said that that Indian Prime Minister Modi was pandering to the far-right with whose support he had come into power and such policies will strengthen the non state actors on both sides of the border.
The former President said that Pakistan itself was the victim of extremism and terrorism and will never support terrorism.
They agreed that Pakistan is part of solution to this problem and it is in the interest of peace and stability that Pakistan continued to play its part in the fight against the global threat of terrorism.
