ISLAMABAD – Backed by the Obama administration, India is strongly urging Pakistan for the inclusion of Afghanistan as an issue in the agenda of Indo-Pak peace dialogue that was resumed recently after months of suspension in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008.
Pakistan and India resumed the peace process after the talks between their foreign secretaries early this month in Thimphu (Bhutan). A statement released simultaneously in Islamabad and New Delhi after the foreign secretaries’ meeting said the new talks would focus on counterterrorism, humanitarian issues, peace and security, the disputed region of Jammu and Kashmir and other issues.
It did not say when talks would begin, but announced that the foreign minister of Pakistan will visit India by July this year to review the progress made by the two sides on different issues included in the dialogue agenda. “It was at the foreign secretaries’ meeting that India came up with the desire to discuss the Afghan situation with Pakistan in a formal way reflecting clearly New Delhi’s deep interest in Afghanistan.”
Since the foreign secretaries’ talks, India has been strongly urging Pakistan for the inclusion of Afghanistan as an issue in the dialogue agenda and the Obama administration is also supporting New Delhi on this,” said an official here on Sunday requesting anonymity.
He said the United States, which also played a key role in the resumption of stalled Indo-Pak peace process, wanted Islamabad and New Delhi to discuss their conflicting interests in Afghanistan in an open way and for that it believed that the Afghan situation should be a part of their bilateral talks.
However, he said the Pakistani authorities have not responded positively to India’s demand for inclusion of Afghanistan as an issue in talks’ agenda along with Kashmir and other bilateral issues owing to its concern that the move would be taken as an acceptance of India’s role in Islamabad’s western neighbor.
“India’s presence in Afghanistan is already the cause of deep concern for Pakistan and it has always raised this issue with the United States and other western countries,” the official said.
Another Pakistani diplomat when contacted said that Pakistan was also worried over the possibility of India’s role getting stronger in Afghanistan in coming times due to emerging US-India strategic partnership aimed at countering Chinese influence in the region.
He said, “Pakistan feels that there is no harm in discussing the Afghan situation with India but it will only be done informally.”
