By IANS,
New Delhi : India had been kept in the loop while US President Barrack Obama’s new Af-Pak strategy on the war against terror was being formulated and would continue to be consulted in future, a top American diplomat said Wednesday.
“We consulted the Indian government very closely,” said Richard Holbrooke, the US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan.
He was addressing a joint press conference here with Admiral Mike Mullen, the chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, after talks with Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon.
He also noted that Menon had spoken on the telephone with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and US National Security Advisor James L. Jones while the Af-Pak policy was being strategised.
“India’s views will be welcomed in Washington at any and every level,” Holbrooke maintained.
Holbrooke and Mullen were here on the concluding leg of a five-day swing through the region that has already taken them to Afghanistan and Pakistan as they seek to take forward Obama’s new Af-Pak strategy.
Apart from Menon, Holbrooke and Mullen also met National Security Adbvisor M.K.Narayanan and the prime minister’s special envoy S.K. Lambah for discussions on regional and security issues.
Mullen separately met Indian Navy chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta, who is also the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff committee, to discuss issues relating to maritime security.