WASHINGTON: The United States and Pakistan are trying to get their relationship back on track, said the US State Department while commenting on recent meetings between leaders of the two countries.

The department’s spokesperson Victoria Nuland told a briefing in Washington that the United States was also helping Pakistan and Afghanistan in resolving their border disputes.

“We are making progress to get our relationship with Pakistan back on track, and I think that was evident when Foreign Minister Khar was here and after the meeting with President Zardari as well,” she said.

US Secretary of State Hillary met President Asif Ali Zardari in New York last week on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. She also had an important meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar in Washington before going to New York.

Responding to a question, the State Department spokesperson said the United States was encouraging Afghanistan and Pakistan to work together to resolve their border disputes.

And they were also working with the US-backed international forces in Afghanistan and “with us to try to end incidents on both sides of the border and incidents across the border”, she said.

In their speeches to the UN General Assembly, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and his foreign minister warned that their relations with Pakistan could get worse if Islamabad did not stop cross-border firing into Afghanistan.

Pakistan denied the charge and said it only fired at militants trying to sneak into Pakistan to attack Pakistani troops and civilians.