WASHINGTON: The United States has urged Pakistan to cooperate in the investigation into the terrorist attack on the Indian army facility in Jammu and Kashmir’s Uri on Sunday, suggesting, by implication, Islamabad can indeed help.

A state department spokesman said Wednesday US secretary of state John Kerry “discussed the incident” with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif when they met on the sidelines of the UN general assembly on Sunday. “The secretary urged Pakistani cooperation in the investigation,” the spokesman added.

The US also offered to help with investigations into the attack, which left 18 Indian soldiers dead, in a phone call by deputy secretary of state Anthony Blinken to foreign secretary S Jaishankar.

India has said the attack was carried out by Jaish-eMohammad, a Pakistan-based terrorist outfit that was also blamed for the attack on Indian airbase in Pathankot in January.

A source said while the US had strongly condemned the attack then, as it has now, it had not followed up by asking Pakistan to cooperate in the investigation. “Implied here in the present instance is a suggestion of a certain leverage Islamabad has with these groups,” the source added, pointing to a similar call from the US after the 2008 Mumbai attacks carried out by another Pakistanbased group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The spokesman also addressed the question of US policy on Kashmir, saying, “The US position on Kashmir has not changed. It is an issue for India and Pakistan to resolve.”

There were reports in Pakistan media that Prime Minister Sharif had urged secretary Kerry at their Sunday meeting for US intervention to resolve the dispute.

Sharif got a more positive response from his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang, who said Wednesday, according to Pakistan Radio, “We stand by Pakistan and will continue to raise our voice in Pakistan’s support at every forum. We attach great importance to Pakistan’s position on Kashmir.”

Asked who the US believed was behind the Uri attack, the state department spokesman said, “We are still awaiting further information. We have offered our assistance to the government of India, and we also urge Pakistan to cooperate in the ongoing investigation.”