Washington: Making it clear that he is not
an envoy for Indo-Pak ties, US Special Representative for
Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, on Wednesday said he
gives great importance to India in the region and constantly
consults it on the Obama administration`s Af-Pak policies.
"I am not an envoy, my title isn`t special envoy ... and
I`m not working on Indian-Pakistani relations," Holbrooke told
Charlie Rose of the PBS news channel in an interview.
"My responsibilities extend only to Afghanistan and
Pakistan, but I consult and keep the Indians informed at all
times. I have travelled there regularly and I`m looking
forward to going early next year on my next trip if I can work
out the logistics," he said in response to a question.
He said he informs Indians about what the US is doing in
the region and gets their advice.
"But I do not work on Islamabad-New Delhi relations. That
is for the two countries to work out for themselves. We will
always support anything the two countries agree to," Holbrooke
said.
However, he did observe that India, Pakistan and
Afghanistan are interlinked.
"There are three countries involved here: Afghanistan,
Pakistan, and Pakistan`s giant neighbour to the east, India.
And the history of these three countries is deeply
inter-related," he said.
"The relations between India and Pakistan are steeped in
the history that goes back to 1947. And one has to accept that
history. You can`t change history, and it`s deep in the
feelings of both countries. But as President (Barack) Obama
said, any improvement in relations between two countries would
be good for the region and we would support that," Holbrooke
said.
He said the 11 months of Obama`s presidency have made
great progress in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
"We`ve made great progress in getting people to recognise
that we have a common threat and a common task. When I say
`we`, I mean the United States, Pakistan, and India. We all
face the same enemy. This is the first time this has been true
since independence. And this is something which has become
more and more clear," he said.
PTI
