Pak claims US failed to address its concerns over India’s role in Afghanistan
By ANIFriday, June 11, 2010
ISLAMABAD - The United States has rejected addressing Pakistan’s concerns regarding India’s efforts to ‘destabilise’ it using Afghan soil.
According to sources, a high level US defence team, during its meeting with Pakistani officials, rebuked Islamabad’s charges against New Delhi.
The US defence team headed by Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Force Development, David Ochmanek, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia, David Sedney, appeared reluctant to share its views over Pakistan’s continuous effort to highlight India’s ‘covert’ activities in Afghanistan, The Nation reports.
During the meeting, Pakistan Secretary of Defence Lieutenant General (retired) Athar Ali described New Delhi’s effort to destabilise Pakistan using Afghanistan’s territory as one of the most serious challenges to Pakistan’s national security.
A joint statement issued by the US Embassy after the conclusion of the deliberations said that issues of common interest under the rubric of the Strategic Dialogue process was discussed during the meeting between the Pakistan and US defence officials.
“Both sides discussed and reviewed cooperation in Defence relations, focused on the mutual challenges associated with multi-year cooperation between Pakistan and the US, and reviewed mechanisms for prioritising and integrating security and defence capability requirements,” the statement said. (ANI)
