Thaindian News

New Delhi, Oct 12 (IANS) Terming India’s strategic pact with Afghanistan as a “positive development,” US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Marc Grossman Wednesday backed greater Indian private sector investment in the violence-ravaged country and discussed the situation in the volatile region.

Amid Washington’s plunging ties with Islamabad, Grossman discussed the situation in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region with Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and India’s Special Envoy for Afghanistan Satinder Lambah.

He discussed the forthcoming international conference on Afghanistan in Istanbul on Nov 2 and Bonn on Dec 5 and sought India’s support for a successful outcome.

In his discussions, he described the strategic partnership pact signed between New Delhi and Kabul last week as a “positive development,” which is seen by Islamabad as a bid to contain its influence in a country it regards as strategic depth.

The operations of extremist networks like the ISI-backed Haqqani network which is suspected of plotting the September 13 attack on the US embassy in Kabul also figured in the discussions, reliable sources said.

Grossman also met Commerce Secretary Rahul Khullar and is understood to have discussed various developmental projects India has undertaken in the war-ravaged nation and how India and the US could cooperate in buttressing capacity building there.

“In all my meetings today, one of the themes that came up is how can (we) have more Indian private sector investment in Afghanistan,” he said.

“I reported to all the three in my meetings that I have been on this long journey which has brought me to New Delhi for one purpose, that is to support the diplomacy that is going on to try to create successful conferences about Afghanistan.”

The US chief pointsperson for AfPak will be visiting Pakistan Thursday. He said said his talks with officials in India and other countries in the region aimed at finding out if the international community could find a way to support a stable and prosperous Afghanistan.

Ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan plummeted to a new low after the Sept 20 assassination of Afghan chief interlocutor with the Taliban Burhanuddin Rabbani.

Kabul has pointed an accusing finger at Pakistan for its alleged complicity in the killing. During his visit to New Delhi last week, Afghan President Hamid Karzai has said he had suspended talks for reconciliation with the Taliban and would to talk to Pakistan about ways to restore stability in his country.