While acknowledging Pakistan's position as a “concerned, legitimate partner” in Afghanistan, the United States on Thursday assured India that it also had a major role to play “in search for solutions” in the strife-torn country.
Visiting India after a hiatus, Special Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke agreed with India's perception of fusing of terrorist organisations in the region and ruled out a role for the Haqqani network in the search for peace in Afghanistan.
Speaking to journalists, Mr. Holbrooke pointed out that Afghanistan was not a zero sum game between India and Pakistan and felt better ties between both countries would help to dispel that impression. “Pakistan is not going to take over Afghanistan, nor is the Taliban. But every country in the region has to be part of the solution.”
“It is for India to decide what it wants its role in Afghanistan to be. The U.S. will back any efforts for better relations between India and Pakistan,'' he said. In Kabul earlier this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton passed on a similar message at her meeting with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna.
While Afghanistan's “neighbours and near neighbours” have genuine security concerns and “that includes definitely India,” Mr. Holbrooke drew attention to the intertwined and complex relationship among Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and China, leading to anxiety among some when the U.S. held a strategic dialogue with another country. “This is unfortunate,” he felt.
“Our support for India is undiminished. We all understand it has a central role in the region. We believe India can play a very positive role in the search for stability in the region.” But “you cannot stabilise without the participation of Pakistan, which has legitimate concerns.”
Mr. Holbrooke also spoke of the “red lines” that would be observed in integrating militant groups and, in an interview to a private TV channel, ruled out accommodating the Haqqani network.
This is music to Indian ears since South Block believes that the group led by Jalaluddin Haqqani (now by his son Sirajuddin) has been close to the Al-Qaeda and other Wahabi groups since the 1980s when it was heavily patronised by the CIA and the ISI and lionised as the “noble savage.” Since then the U.S. has announced a reward on Jalaluddin and killed his sister and a son in separate drone strikes.
