Holbrooke says he is not envoy for Indo-Pak relations

I / Washington December 23, 2009, 10:15 IST

Making it clear that he is not an envoy for Indo-Pak ties, US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke, today said he gives great importance to India in the region and constantly consults it on the Obama administration's Af-Pak policies.

"I am not an envoy, my title isn't special envoy ... And I'm not working on Indian-Pakistani relations," Holbrooke told Charlie Rose of the PBS news channel in an interview.

"My responsibilities extend only to Afghanistan and Pakistan, but I consult and keep the Indians informed at all times. I have travelled there regularly and I'm looking forward to going early next year on my next trip if I can work out the logistics," he said in response to a question.

He said he informs Indians about what the US is doing in the region and gets their advice.

"But I do not work on Islamabad-New Delhi relations. That is for the two countries to work out for themselves. We will always support anything the two countries agree to," Holbrooke said.

However, he did observe that India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are interlinked.

"There are three countries involved here: Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Pakistan's giant neighbour to the east, India. And the history of these three countries is deeply inter-related," he said.

"The relations between India and Pakistan are steeped in the history that goes back to 1947. And one has to accept that history. You can't change history, and it's deep in the feelings of both countries. But as President (Barack) Obama said, any improvement in relations between two countries would be good for the region and we would support that," Holbrooke said.

He said the 11 months of Obama's presidency have made great progress in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

"We've made great progress in getting people to recognise that we have a common threat and a common task. When I say 'we', I mean the United States, Pakistan, and India.