India, Nov. 14 -- Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday said Washington's need for Pakistan's help in Afghanistan had probably made it less critical of the military's grip on Pakistan's government. He said the US no longer views India through a Pakistan lens.

"Seeing the relationship with India in some fashion through the prism of Pakistan, that is over and done," Blinken said at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. He said the earlier approach was driven by expedience, mainly the US's goals in Afghanistan, and that this had ended, allowing Washington to recalibrate.

He drew a sharp line between the two relationships. India, he said, was a global force, while the relationship with Pakistan "has been regional". "...