US underlines India's key role for success of Af-Pak policy

New Delhi, Apr 8 (PTI) As it begins implementation of
its new strategy on Afghanistan and Pakistan, the US Wednesday
underlined the critical role of India in the success of the
policy as there was a "common threat".

US Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke, who held talks with
India's Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and National
Security Adviser M K Narayanan, underlined that he was not
visiting the region to "negotiate" between India and Pakistan.

"The answer is no," Holbrooke said at a press conference
here when asked whether he had asked his Indian interlocutors
to resume talks with Pakistan.

"Let me just be clear on my one word answer. We did not
come here to ask the Indians to do anything. We came here to
inform about our trips (to Afghanistan and Pakistan) as we
always do and to get their views. We did not come here with
any requests," said Holbrooke, while addressing the press
along with US Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike
Mullen.

Holbrooke and Mullen emphasised that their visit here was
in connection with the new strategy on Afghanistan and
Pakistan, which the US has just started to implement.

"We cannot settle issues like Afghanistan and many other
issues without India's full involvement and its own expression
of views," said Holbrooke while pointing out that he had come
to "listen" to Indian views and that his discussions with
Indian officials were "terrific".

Contending that "priorities" of both India and the US in
Afghanistan are the same, the Special Envoy on Afghanistan and
Pakistan said "coordination", however, was missing and that
his visit here along with Mullen was aimed at accelerating
that.

"Everyone in this part of the world should recognise that
for the first time since Partition, India, Pakistan and the US
face a common threat and a common challenge and we have a
common task," he said.

Acknowledging that there was "history" between India and
Pakistan as well as between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he said
"but now as we face a common threat, we must work together."

He said the US is "working intensively with our friends
in Pakistan to achieve a common goal. That is what we are
doing. We know it's going to be difficult but the national
security interests of all three countries are clearly at
stake."

Noting that Pakistan is at the centre of the common
fight, Holbrooke said, "What happens in Afghanistan is
profoundly affected by what happens in Pakistan and the two
issues are deeply inter-related."

He voiced concern over the peace deal between government
and Taliban in Swat region of Pakistan and said the worries
had been "further raised" after terror attacks on Sri Lankan
cricket team and police training centre in Lahore.

"What has happened in Swat has stunned many people in
Pakistan," the Special Envoy said, adding "everyone in this
part of the world should recognise what's happening."

Holbrooke said during his visit to Pakistan he had met
some people from Swat to "learn more" about the peace deal and
observed that "it was a difficult and touching meeting".

He described Baitullah Mehsud, chief of Pakistani Taliban
as "a terrible man" and "a great danger to Pakistan,
Afghanistan ... He (Mehsud) is as bad as any bad actor in a
very dangerous region."

Asked about his assessment on whether the ISI was ready
to sever its ties with terrorists, Mullen said that one of the
priority issues of his visits to Pakistan over the last one
year has been the "focus on intelligence activities and doing
that in a constructive way".

He said the focus continues to be that but refused to go
into the details of the discussions that were going on. PTI
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