Pakistan has conveyed to the Obama administration that it wants the United States to address its concern on any major role of India in Afghanistan in the post-NATO scenario.
Currently, talks between the US and Mullah Omar-led Afghan Taliban in the Qatari capital have been stalemated due to reservations of Afghan President Hamid Karzai over the Taliban office, but diplomatic sources said the formal negotiations between American officials and Taliban representatives would begin as soon as Karzai had expressed his willingness to support the Doha process.
Pakistan, on its part, is fully supporting the Doha process and it was in fact the key role played by Islamabad that helped secure the Taliban willingness for talks with the US and various Afghan groups in Qatar, as well as the opening of Taliban office there.
According to sources, Pakistan had also been instrumental in persuading the Taliban to soften their stance in the standoff with Karzai government over their office in Qatar and enter into meaningful negotiations with the US officials and other Afghan groups, including representatives of High Council for Peace in Afghanistan.
However, a source seeking anonymity said Pakistan was also in touch with the US and its other NATO allies like the UK on the India’s role in Afghanistan.
“Pakistan has its concerns over any major role assigned to India in Afghanistan by the United States after the NATO troops’ pullout and that has been conveyed to Washington,” he said.
He said the issue of Indian role and its increased influence in the war-torn country was also discussed by the Pakistani leadership with British Prime Minister David Cameron during his two-day visit to Islamabad that concluded on Sunday.
The source said Pakistan was not against friendly ties between Afghanistan and India, but at the same time it would also not like the use of Afghan soil for any anti-Islamabad activities.
In the past, Pakistan had spoken to New Delhi as well about the involvement of Indian hand in fomenting trouble in its Tribal Areas as well as Balochistan, for which Pakistani authorities believed the Afghan soil had been used.
Another diplomatic source, who also asked not to be named, said mindful of fact that any tension between Islamabad and New Delhi would impact its strategy for NATO troops’ withdrawal from Afghanistan, the US was trying hard, though through back channel diplomacy, for the recommencement of peace dialogue between rival nuclear neighbours.
“Resumption of peace dialogue with India is one of the priority areas of Nawaz government also and owing to that as well as US efforts for improvement of ties between Islamabad and New Delhi, the nuclear South Asian states are likely to soon embark on the course of negotiations,” he said.
Pakistan's concerns are not new. Pakistan's understanding of the problem and the stand Pakistan took on Afghan fighters is also not new. Recently a NATO commander General Nick Carter echoed what Pakistan said more than a decade ago, but unfortunately it was not headed leading to extreme loss of life on both sides. Pakistan wanted world community to engage with Taliban and this is what General Nick Carter has reverberated.
Quite a few years ago whilst having an evening meal with a friend in Berlin an Afghan waiter summed it all, "America's departure will be a game changer ". I was surprised with this remark full of foresight by some one who turned out to be a student doing his PhD in international affairs in the University of Berlin.
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Why would "world community" want "to engage with Taliban" ???
To feed into Pakistan's vested interest ???
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I want all my countrymen back home and have absolutely nothing (except for occasional carpet bombing) to do with Taliban and it's mother …
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By the way, General Nick Carter is no 'somebody' in the US …
I doubt if BBC can sell their 'Mac Churchill' to it's own mother …
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Mr Anonymous! Gen Nick Carter is like any other general serving NATO. His credibility and what he said would not have increased if he were a US general. Unfortunately US had a brilliant General named Stanley Maccrystal who understood the problem but voiced his concerns in a politically incorrect way and paid the price.
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Ooh, Maccrystal and your understander …
Read me a few other names from ur 'list of loosers' …
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Yes sir, we support taliban, we send terrorist to kashmir, and much more….. Can you do anything for that? We will continue to do that till ur death…… Believe me we have Phds in this art…… Bacha k rakhna apni behn….
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Afghanistan is for Afghans …
Any super power dividing and allocating 'role' into it for others is immoral …
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Afghans should be allowed to live their own life and make their own choices through their own democratic process …
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Anything else is going to be a 'strategic fault-line' reminiscent of dirty Brit architecture …
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You are p-iss- ed off aren't you.
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Right now, you have two thumbs up and I have three thumbs down …
And, no objective reply to my comment yet …
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Tell me about 'your comprehension' about 'peeessed-off crowd' …
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Pakistan should know its "aukaat" and leave Afganistan alone. Who the hell are these Pakistanis to think that they should dictate to Afagnistan what kind of relationship they should have with India. Afganistan is an independent country.
Pakistan's own wickedness is haunting it. These cr00ks know what they doing to India in exporting terror to India, and sponsoring jehad in Kashmir. India must support Baloch nationlists openly. Why not ?
India should know its aukaat and stay away guess indians have not tasted a suicide blast. It has been made clear in the article that Pakistan does have any reservations with respect to India Afghanistan friendly ties but as Karzai is supporting indian intellegence against Pakistan so Pakistan should keep its national intrest first. Its better for India to stop interfering in other country's as we are trying to make good relationship with India or else after 2014 India will pay for it.
do you recomend Pakistan should support Sikh separatist, Tamil Independant movement and other 8 separatist movements in India.
If Pakistan and friends would do such a thing then India could be divided in several sectors
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Don't tell me they didn't try …
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With such open anger!
Now Pakistani media and the government is openly yelling out of their jealousy felt among Pakistan top circles about India-Afghan strategic partnership.
I strongly believe that IndiaAfgha bonds will get stronger and far more sincere after NATO's withdrawal in 2014. No matter what might challenge this bond of friendship, the trend of progress and strengthening of this friendship will surface new heights where none of the regional power could reach.
It is no new thing for us Afghans to see Pakistan as our enemy-in-neighbor. It's so unfortunate for us to have shared border with such a heinous and jealous county for so long. No matter what Pakistans holds as their strategic assets, though nothing more than terrorism they have in stores, it will pay a bigger price for all the bloodshed they have caused us. Punjab should remember that Afghans have knelt down empires of times. Alas! Pakistan would be scared to death if our patience overlaps. We've always wanted good and friendly relations will all our neighbors but it was them who wanted to establish a puppet govt in Kabul all the times. This dream of theirs has now remained a nightmare and always will. India is our old friend and we have the full right to have strategic relations with them. This is nobody's freakin business!!!!!
You are an indian with just kabul boy name….. Apni beti ka nam rakhna Jalalabad girl…..
Is Pakistan out-sourcing its foreign policy to the USA? How stupid!
The most probable reply from the USA: you should manage your relations with India yourself, and let Afghans decide about their relations themselves. We do not interfere with what you and they do with India.not our business.
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