Around 1.10 lakh people have signed an online petition on the White House website that wants Pakistan to be declared a state sponsor of terrorism. It has thus qualified for a response from the United States administration within the next two months, reported PTI.

The online petition was launched by a group of Indian-Americans on September 21 and within a week it became the third most popular petition on the website. The petition states, “[It] is important to the people of United State of America, India and many other countries which are continuously affected by Pakistan sponsored terrorism.” President Barack Obama had started the "We the People" online petition window on the White House website that allows US citizens to voice their opinion on a particular issue.

The petition was created the day US legislators Ted Poe and Dana Rohrabacher introduced a Bill in the House of Representatives, seeking that Pakistan be declared a state sponsor of terror. The Congressmen had also accused Pakistan of helping the US' enemies.

White House Deputy spokesperson Mark Toner, however, indirectly shot down any possibility of declaring Pakistan a terror state in the near future and said the US is more keen on improving “its counter-terrorism capabilities” with Islamabad, according to PTI. "That [designating state sponsor of terrorism] is a very specific process and determination that involves a legal process and assessment," Toner added.

The deputy spokesperson further said that the White House hopes to see both India and Pakistan normalise their relationship, which has been badly hit after the September 18 militant attack in Kashmir’s Uri. "We are pursuing very close relations with India… Similarly, we want to see Pakistan better able to respond to the threat that terrorism poses and terrorist groups that seek refuge in its territory," he added.