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Pak rules out role for India in Afghanistan

Pakistan has ruled out any role for India to bring peace to war-ravaged Afghanistan, saying India was not among the eight countries identified by the United Nations to resolve the Afghan conflict.

"We do not see any role for India," Pakistan Foreign Minister Abdul Sattar said in Islamabad, reacting to Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi's call to Pakistan to work with India and Iran to resolve the Afghan conflict. Kharazi made the statement while welcoming Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Teheran this week.

The United Nations has established a six-plus-two group to try to bring an end to the two decades of bitter war in Afghanistan.

The six countries include Pakistan, Iran, China, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The other two are United States and Russia.

The proposal to include India has come only from Iran and Pakistan has not heard it from any other country, Sattar told members of the Rawalpindi-Islamabad Press Club members.

"India has the right to take interest in the affairs of Afghanistan, but we don't see it having a role there," he said.

Sattar also expressed disappointment over delay in response to Pakistan's quest for resumption of dialogue with India to resolve the Kashmir issue.

"Four months and 12 days have gone when Pakistan floated various proposals but India has not given any response," he said.

Listing the proposals, Sattar said Pakistan wanted stabilisation of ceasefire along the Line of Control and an end to Indian troops violence in Kashmir as well as allowing the APHC leaders to visit Pakistan for talks.

The APHC could later hold talks in India which could lead to the resumption of Indo-Pak dialogue to find a solution to the Kashmir issue in accordance with the wishes of Kashmiris, he said.

"We are disappointed that India has not yet positively responded to our proposals," he said.

To a question on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), Sattar said no decision had yet been taken by Pakistan to sign the CTBT as there was a need to forge a national consensus on the issue.

"Pakistan will not withdraw from its nuclear capability and will maintain minimum nuclear deterrence. Under no circumstances, Pakistan will give up minimum nuclear deterrence," he said.

Referring to the expulsion of a Pakistani diplomat by Nepal for allegedly keeping large quantity of explosives at his residence, Sattar said the expulsion would not affect friendly relations between the two countries and that everything would be settled amicably.

Sattar, who will be visiting China from April 16 to 19 ahead of Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji's visit to Pakistan next month, said that during his visit to Beijing he would hold talks on Pakistan's efforts for peaceful settlement of Kashmir issue, nuclear restraint and progress achieved by military ruler Pervez Musharraf's Government.

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