‘India, Pakistan, US must tackle al-Qaeda together’

The threat posed by al-Qaeda and its allies can be met only with the joint efforts of arch rivals India and Pakistan, as well as the United States, the top US envoy to the region said on Wednesday. “For the first time since Partition (of the Sub-continent in 1947), India, Pakistan and the United States face a common threat, a common challenge and we have a common task,” US Envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke told reporters in New Delhi.

“Now that we face a common threat we must work together,” said Holbrooke, who held talks here with senior Indian officials following visits to Pakistan and Afghanistan. But in his joint briefing with Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Holbrooke stressed that Washington had no intention of pushing New Delhi into resuming a peace dialogue with Islamabad. There are also concerns that Pakistan wants a solution to disputed Kashmir as an element of any regional peace efforts, a condition that India rejects. “We did not come here to ask India to do anything. We did not come here with any requests,” Holbrooke said, adding that his only brief was to “inform and consult with” Indian officials.

Those comments appeared aimed at addressing Indian concerns that Washington was intent on mediating a rapprochement with Pakistan. “We must work together...The national security of all these countries is clearly at stake,” Holbrooke said. Earlier, both the US leaders met with Indian National Security Adviser MK Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon and discussed the regional situation with special reference to the war on terror. Holbrooke said the challenges would not be easy and regional threats and challenges had to be met with regional responses. He said India was an important power in the region and its role was ‘absolutely critical’ in many positive ways.

He condemned Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, who has recently warned that two suicide bombings would be carried out in Pakistan per week unless the US stopped the missile strikes. “He is a terrible man, a great danger to Pakistan, to Afghanistan. He is as bad as any other actor in a very dangerous region,” he said. He said the purpose of their visit to the region was to hold consultation with ‘regional partners’ what could be done together. He said the use of military power alone to counter terrorism was no longer valid. A civil-military combination was important for stability, peace and good governance.