Holbrooke says not working on Kashmir issue

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Dec 16 (PTI) Making it clear that he is not
working on the Kashmir problem, US special envoy for Af-Pak
Richard Holbrooke has insisted that his mandate does not cover
the issue, though he keeps India closely informed about his
effort in the region where the country is a "hugely important
factor."

The Kashmir issue is neither his mandate, nor the
countries in the region expect him to do, Holbrooke said at a
meeting at the Council on Foreign Relations, a Washington-
based think tank, in response to a question.
"Let me be very clear. I am not working on that (Kashmir)
problem," Holbrooke said when asked about the issue and the
need for US to mediate on it.
"I don't even mention the problem I am not working
on. That's a game when I go to India - and I go to India
frequently and I look forward to going back soon because we
keep the Indians very closely informed of our effort because
India is hugely important factor here," Holbrooke said.
The Special US Representative for Pakistan and
Afghanistan said he would be visiting the region next month.
He has not been to India since June. However, he had
several meetings with top Indian officials both here and in
New York during the UN General Assembly session and Indian
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's trip to the US in November.
(More) PTI LKJ
MYR


The information contained in this electronic message and any attachments to this
message are intended for the exclusive
use of the addressee(s) and may contain proprietary, confidential or privileged
information. If you are not the intended
recipient, you should not disseminate, distribute or copy this e-mail. Please
notify the sender immediately and destroy
all copies of this message and any attachments contained in it.