The Obama Administration today said Pakistan needs to expand its counter-terrorism operations from the Afghan border to Punjab, where most of anti-India terror groups like LeT are based. Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake said, the principal problem that prevents the two countries from holding peace talks is that of terrorism. He said, it is important for Pakistanis to continue the important steps that they have taken against terrorism in Swat and South Waziristan and against some members of Taliban. Mr Blake said Islamabad need to extend that fight to the groups that are based in Punjab such as LeT that are attacking not only India, but also the United States, and potentially could attack Pakistan itself. He added that progress towards reining in the activities of the LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed and other such groups, will have a very significant impact on Indo-Pak ties. Mr Blake, the Obama Administration's pointman for South Asia, also welcomed the recent meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gillani in Thimphu on the margins of the SAARC Summit in Bhutan.