NEW DELHI: The United States should help Pakistan fight extremism within its own borders, former US president George W Bush said on Friday.

Talking to an Indian Newspaper as the chief guest at the newspaper’s ‘Leadership Initiative’, the former US president said Pakistanis were starting to realise that terrorists were as likely to attack within their country as outside it.

To a question about how he had managed the Pakistan-India relationship while in office, Bush said it was possible for the US to have good relations with both countries at the same time.

“I think that approach is going to be important in this part of the world,” he said.

He said the US should help Afghanistan become a democracy and help Pakistan fight terrorists inside the country.

“You do want a friend to have the capacity to handle problems.

You want Pakistan to fight extremism inside its borders,” he said.