Amid the mounting Indo-Pak tensions in the wake of the cross-border terrorist attack on the Indian Army base in Uri, the United States has let it be known that it expects Islamabad to go after the lashkar-e-Tayyeba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and their affiliates.

US National Security Advisor Susan Rice spoke to her Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on Wednesday to strongly condemn the attack that killed 18 Indian soldiers and pledge to deepen the US cooperation with India on counter-terrorism.

Significantly, a statement on the Rice-Doval telephone conversation put out by US National Security Council spokesperson Ned Price not only categorized the Uri assault as a “cross-border attack” but went on to list Washington’s expectations from Islamabad.

“Highlighting the danger that cross-border terrorism poses to the region, Ambassador Rice reiterated our expectation that Pakistan take effective action to combat and delegitimize United Nations-designated terrorist individuals and entities, including lashkar-e-Tayyiba, Jaish-e-Muhammad, and their affiliates,” the statement said.

“In the context of the robust US-India partnership, Ambassador Rice discussed our shared commitment with India to pursuing peace and regional stability and pledged to deepen collaboration on counterterrorism matters including on UN terrorist designations,” it said.

During the conversation, Rice affirmed President Barack Obama’s commitment to redouble US efforts to bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorism throughout the world.

Rice’s conversation came close on the heels of India’s strong statement delivered by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at the UN General Assembly on Monday, exposing Pakistan’s complicity in cross-border terrorism, with the Uri attack being the latest in a long list. Swaraj had also pointedly stated how UN-designated terrorists were roaming freely in what was seen as a clear reference to leT chief Hafiz Saeed.