Pakistan seeks more help from India to combat terror

ISLAMABAD, July 24 (Reuters) - Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani told his Indian counterpart on Thursday both countries should cooperate more deeply to combat "terrorism and extremism" in the region.

Having gone to the brink of a fourth war in 2002, the nuclear armed South Asian rivals embarked on a peace process four years ago but relations were strained by a suicide attack outside the Indian embassy in Kabul this month.

Afghan and Indian officials have accused a Pakistani intelligence agency of involvement in the attack that killed 58 people, including two senior Indian diplomats.

Gilani called Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to congratulate him on winning a vote of confidence on Tuesday and said Pakistan attached "immense importance" to its relations with India.

"The present state of unrest in the region demands more cooperation in the field of combating terrorism and extremism as both the countries are victims of this menace," a statement from the prime minister's office quoted Gilani as saying.

He said a stable Afghanistan was "in the safe interest of all countries of the region and all possible efforts must be made to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan".

Gilani said he was looking forward to meeting Singh on the sidelines of a South Asian summit in Colombo, Sri Lanka, early next month.

The statement quoted Singh as assuring Gilani of his full support and cooperation for an amicable settlement of all outstanding issues between Pakistan and India, including their core dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

While there has been considerable improvement in commercial, diplomatic and sports links between the two countries since they launched the peace process, there has been no significant progress on resolving the Kashmir dispute. (Reporting by Zeeshan Haider; Editing by Paul Tait)