WASHINGTON, Oct 21 The stakes have never been higher in the relationship between Pakistan and the United States, warns Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi as he engages in a series of broad discussions with US officials aimed at expanding bilateral relations beyond the war against terrorists.

As experts from the two sides completed the groundwork, Mr Qureshi and Army Chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani joined their American counterparts in the first session of the strategic dialogue which began on Wednesday afternoon.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed the US delegation which included Defence Secretary Robert Gates, US military chief Admiral Mike Mullen and other members of the Obama cabinet.

The Pakistani delegation headed by Mr Qureshi included Finance Minister Hafeez Shaikh and Defence Minister Ahmed Mukhtar.

Thirteen working groups focusing on topics from energy to agriculture, water to women's rights, completed their consultations on Thursday afternoon to enable senior officials to finalise their recommendations during the next two days.

Earlier, Mr Qureshi told a select gathering of US scholars and policy-makers at the Brookings Institution, a political-policy think tank in Washington, that Pakistan had asked the Obama administration to work for the resolution of disputes in South Asia, particularly the Kashmir issue, which he said was key to peace in the region.

Mr Qureshi reminded Americans that Pakistan had paid “an enormous price” for being their main ally in South Asia for the last 60 years.

Tying US foreign policy over the decades to the current “vicious and inhuman terrorist campaign” that had claimed the lives of thousands of Pakistanis, Mr Qureshi argued that to accomplish its goals in Afghanistan and the wider region, the United States needed Islamabad like never before.

Pakistan, he said, had been a “steady partner” in challenges faced by the United States since World War II and remained so today.

“Our commitment to the fight against terrorism and extremism is real and demonstratable. The democratic government has spent immense political capital in converting public opinion in favour of the struggle. A national consensus that was earlier lacking,” Mr Qureshi said.

“As a result, today, for the people of Pakistan, this is our war. Pakistan has walked the talk and is standing up for the peace and security of the region — in fact, the whole world.”

He reminded US policy-makers that Pakistan was facing what was possibly the most difficult moment in its 63-year history.

“This is a moment of a unique crisis of confidence for Pakistan. A vicious and inhuman terrorist campaign has killed thousands of our people. Long-neglected social and economic problems threaten our national structure. The international recession has badly hurt investments and markets for our products,” Mr Qureshi said.

“And on top of it all, over the last three months, Pakistan has been faced with the greatest floods in modern history.”