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Obama Af-Pak speech snub: India says 'not complaining'
Welcoming United States' extended commitments in Afghanistan, India said on Wednesday that it was not "complaining" about not finding a mention in President Barack Obama's Af-Pak policy speech and was "pleased" that military pressure on Taliban will not be eased there.
"India is not complaining at all," Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor told reporters when asked if India was feeling 'left out' on not being mentioned in Obama's speech.
"What you are overlooking is that our Prime Minister has just been there. He received a pretty thorough exposition of the US' views on the issue and President Obama called him up in Delhi yesterday to brief him further before his public speech in the US," he added.
Pointing out that India has always maintained that it doesn't have a direct involvement in Afghanistan, Tharoor said, "American abbreviation for their policy is Af-Pak and I see India in neither of those two abbreviations. Afghanistan and Pakistan are the focus of this policy and focus of President Obama's speech."
Tharoor welcomed US' continued commitment in Afghanistan and said India was "very pleased that pressure on Al-Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan and on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border will not be eased."
US has announced sending 30,000 additional troops to Afghanistan for containing insurgency and securing key population centres there.
Tharoor said that continued military pressure on Taliban and Al-Qaeda was an extremely important security component of the challenges faced by Afghanistan.
Refusing to comment on details of the US President's speech, Tharoor said, "It (Af-Pak policy) is the overall approach of continued engagement and focus on dealing with the every real security dangers faced by Afghanistan."
... contd.
Reader's Comments(16) | Post a comment
I do see India being mentioned twice as an ally with a stake?
It is realy a third world mind set of this 'would be super power'.We always try to equate ourself with Pak and in that process fail to see what is happening beyond our northern borde, China. It seems our aim is to become a better Pak.It is a good thing India is not mentioned. It is their AF - PAK policy and I don't understand how we fit into that military policy of US. This stupid media should try to see India in our own perspective rather than depting our country as some poor African nations extending the begging bowl to US.
Why and how is India involved in this war. Do we wish to have more Mumbai acts? What is wrong in our thinking that we poke our fingers in every pie3 whether we have anything to do with us. India should learn to keep quite and watch and see. It is time to grow up and look around with all that loose lips what have got us. We dont hae a single friend yes a single friend in the world. Thanks to Nehru and his followers who feel that World will stop if we didnot speak. Learn some diplomacy. What has India got to do with this War. We offered our services after 9/11 and were told to stay away so why now???? As I have siad before Taliban is an auxiliary force of Pakistan army and fighting proxy war to keep Afghanistan in that crescent . They are so insecure that after 3 wars they still feel that India might attack them from Afghanistan. They already blaming India for Baluchistan whereas they forget that they are using their gas and not even paying.India is their boggyman
For past 30 years Pakistan is continuously dominating the world stage whether its regional politics,global politics,controversies in games especially cricket or their role in breaking Russia and engaging America.I mean when it comes 2 survival west doesn't need 2 mention India at all.Pakistan is most important and she will carry on enjoying its important geographical status.
The very idea of Af-Pak is to ensure that India is not mentioned in that context. Now when we are not - we begin to complain. Af-Pak is an alternative to the stupid Indo-Pak. We dont want to be bracketed with Pakistan, the failed and epicenter of terror state.