Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| India, US share common goals on Afghanistan: US official |
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| NewJehad |
| 12/06/01 at 08:54:22 |
| India, US share common goals on Afghanistan: US official Washington says it will also work with New Delhi on reconstruction of war-ravaged country NEW DELHI: Washington and New Delhi share common goals on the future of Afghanistan where India has always played a strong role, the top US State Department official for Afghanistan said Tuesday. "What a lot of people do not fully know and quite appreciate is that India has always played a very strong, positive role in Afghanistan. Over the decades, India has been one of the countries most involved in helping Afghanistan," Richard Haass told a regional economic conference in New Delhi. "Very quickly after the September 11 terrorist strikes in the United States it became apparent that Washington and New Delhi shared a commonality of views on Afghanistan. Both wanted to replace the Taliban regime with a broad-based multi-ethnic government," he said. Haass said India and the United States also shared "common goals" in Afghanistan. "Both of us are certain that the al-Qaeda has to be rooted out of Afghanistan. We both want to ensure that Afghanistan is never again a country that harbours terrorism or provides a sanctuary to terrorists," he said. Haass said Washington would also work with New Delhi on the reconstruction of Afghanistan, as "India has the expertise to move on the ground and to do things in a way acceptable to the Afghan people and Afghan society." He said the costs of rebuilding the war-ravaged country will be "phenomenal." "We are talking about billions of dollars with a capital B and many years with a capital M," he said. Haass arrived in India late Monday and met with top Indian defence officials and political leaders to discuss the Afghanistan situation. His trip comes in the wake of a summit between Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and US President George W Bush in Washington on November 9 that prioritised bilateral cooperation in defence, space and energy. "The meeting mapped out the vision to take our important bilateral relationship forward in areas of defence cooperation and the peaceful use of space," said Haass. "My goal in India right now is to make US-India cooperation second nature. We should keep up intimate and regular consultations on all issues like we have done over the Afghan issue. I have had fruitful discussions with the Indian leadership on a range of issues including Afghanistan," he said. India was among the first countries to support the US-declared "war on terrorism," but it has insisted that militancy in the disputed Kashmir state should also be targeted. Another senior US official, Undersecretary of Defence for Policy Douglas Feith, is also in India, where he is looking "to establish long-term military ties." "He will explore the scope of long-term military-to-military relations between India and the United States including arms sales, transfer of dual use technology and intelligence cooperation," Haass said later at a news conference. Feith's visit follows that of Admiral Dennis Blair, commander-in-chief of the US Pacific Command, who was here last week. Asked about the pending US military sanctions against India, Haass said most had already been removed and "the US is studying what can be done (to remove the other sanctions)." In September, Bush partially lifted sanctions against rivals India and Pakistan that were imposed in May 1998 after the two countries carried out tit-for-tat nuclear tests. Source: Jang |
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