Holbrooke to visit India next week, focus on Afghanistan

Washington, Feb 5 (PTI) US Special Envoy to Pakistan
and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke does not have Kashmir on the
agenda when he comes to India next week during a visit to the
region and the focus will be on steps to ease the volatile
situation in Afghanistan.

In his first visit to the region after being appointed
by the Obama administration to work out strategies to deal
with the volatile situation in Afghanistan and the Pak-Afghan
border, Holbrooke during talks with Indian leaders would
"listen," among other things, to New Delhi's point of view and
its perspective on Kabul.

The issues to be discussed with Indian leaders during
Holbrooke's trip, which is to cover India, Pakistan and
Afghanistan, would remain confined to resolving the Afghan-Pak
issue, State Department spokesman Robert Wood said.

Kashmir is not on the agenda and would not be discussed,
he told reporters yesterday.

When asked why Holbrooke is going to New Delhi, whereas
India is not on his agenda, Wood said: "India is an important
country in the region and has interest in Afghanistan."

Holbrooke wants to hear from the Indian government in
terms of how it can better contribute to peace and stability
in Afghanistan, he said.

The exact dates and schedule of Holbrook's trip to
South Asia has not been announced because of security
considerations.

Holbrooke, the spokesman said, had already left
Washington for London--from where he would travel to Munich
to participate in a security conference. From there he will
head to Pakistan, Afghanistan and India, in that order.

Describing the nature of Holbrooke's trip to South
Asia, Wood said: "In essence this is an orientation trip. He's
not carrying any messages to any of these governments from
either the Secretary (of State) or the (US) President. He's
not going there to lecture. He's going there to listen."

Holbrooke would report to the Secretary of State and the
US President once he is back from the region. PTI LKJ