India, June 12 -- India on Thursday pushed back against a senior US general's characterisation of Pakistan as a "phenomenal partner" in counter-terrorism by pointing to the Pakistani military's long-standing support for cross-border terrorism and the presence of terrorist leaders and groups in the neighbouring country.

The US Central Command chief, General Michael Kurilla, created a flutter by saying during a hearing by the House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that the US needs to have a relationship with both India and Pakistan because of the Pakistani military's role in countering threats from the Islamic State-Khorasan Province or ISIS-Khorasan.

When external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal was asked about Kurilla'...