As Pakistan sought to bully the US into backing down from an $800 million cut in military aid intended to remind Islamabad of the meaning of "ally," India's foreign minister welcomed the move — which he said reduces the risk of military confrontation between the two South Asian powers.

Cutting these military payments will hurt US-Pakistan ties and harm the Afghan war effort, Reuters quoted Pakistan's former ambassador to the United States, retired major-general Mehmood Durrani, as saying.

The news agency said Durrani's statements reflected "a widespread view in Pakistan that it was fighting America's war, and Washington must pay for it."

From India's perspective though, the move couldn't come soon enough.

"India has consistently taken the view that it is not desirable that this region had to be heavily armed by the US which will upset the equilibrium in the region itself. To that extent India welcomes this step,” Indian External Affairs Minister S M Krishna told reporters after the announcement of the US decision.