‘US needs India, Iran’s assistance in Afghanistan war’

September 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Indian Ambassador to the United States, Meera Shankar, has said it is for the US to look into the issue and respond to former Pakistan President General Pervez Musharraf's recent disclosure regarding misuse of American military aid. Shankar said the US should respond to the issue and not India.

August 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - President Barack Obama's Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan, Richard Holbrooke on Thursday said the Obama administration is keeping New Delhi posted about its policies on Afghanistan and Pakistan. Speaking on the situation prevailing in Afghanistan and Pakistan at a meeting organised by the Centre for American Progress, Holbrooke described India as a dominant power of South Asia Holbrooke said improving Indo-US relations has been a continual goal of the last three US administrations and opined that all of them had been successful in that.

July 10th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The US House of Representatives has approved an aid bill authorizing the 1.519 billion dollars being given to Pakistan as assistance during the current fiscal year. Similarly, the Senate Appropriations Committee also approved its own version of the bill which would provide Pakistan 1.57 billion dollars in aid in 2010, The Nation reports.

July 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States has made it clear that India remains one of its most important allies. Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Robert Blake told a US daily that Pakistan and Afghanistan are important allies of the United States, but not at the cost of India.

July 1st, 2009 WASHINGTON - The United States on Tuesday rejected India's concern over American assistance to Pakistan, said that the Indians should not worry about Washington's support for Islamabad, as the assistance is to overcome Pakistan's economic and militancy challenges. Robert Blake, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, rejected the concern, which asserted that Pakistan might divert U.S.

May 28th, 2009 BERLIN - German Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung said Iran has an important role to play in Afghanistan as the global community look for ways to stabilise the worsening security situation in that country. Jung said Iran could have an "important influence" in fighting cross-border drug trafficking, which is a major source of revenue fuelling the Afghan insurgency.

May 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Obama administration has alerted the Pakistan Government to "absolutely stop" cross border terrorism in India, US Assistant Secretary of State Richard Boucher has said. "It is important for Pakistan to stop the groups that carry out terrorism in India, absolutely," The Dawn quoted Boucher, as saying.

May 11th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Stating that India has a crucial role to play in rebuilding Afghanistan, a former top US official has said it would be a 'major mistake' to prevent New Delhi from contributing to the development of the war-ravaged country at the insistence of Pakistan. 'I don't think we can afford to turn down assistance from great countries like India.

April 17th, 2009 NEW DELHI - A US Congressional delegation led by House Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Howard Berman met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Friday and discussed terrorism and the situation in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Berman is leading a seven-member delegation, including Congressmen Gary Ackerman, Ted Royce and Jim Costa to India.

April 8th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The US Wednesday sought a greater role for India in Afghanistan, at the same time saying it wouldn't pressurise New Delhi on its ties with Pakistan. 'What happens in Afghanistan depends on Pakistan.

March 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Recognising India as a key stakeholder in the war against terrorism, President Barack Obama proposes to include New Delhi as well as Iran in a new contact group on Pakistan and Afghanistan. 'Together with the United Nations, we will forge a new Contact Group for Afghanistan and Pakistan that brings together all who should have a stake in the security of the region,' Obama said Friday, announcing a new US strategy for the Afghan war.

March 25th, 2009 BRUSSELS - The European Union (EU) has increased financial assistance to Pakistan, an EU official said here. When asked to comment on US Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke's call for the EU to increase economic aid to Pakistan, European Commission (EC) spokesperson for external relations Christiane Hohmann said Tuesday that a week ago the EC announced an increase in assistance to Pakistan to 50 million euro ($67 million) per year between 2007-2010.

March 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - The Chairman of the US Armed Service Committee, Senator Carl Levin, has said the fates of India, Pakistan and Afghanistan are interlinked, while indicating that the improvement in Indo-Pak relations is the key to stability in South Asia. The leading Democrat lawmaker also said India and Pakistan faced a common threat of terrorism.

January 26th, 2009 BRUSSELS - NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said that all Afghanistan's neighbours, including Iran, must be engaged if the West wants to succeed in the war-torn country. 'To my mind, we need a discussion that brings in all the relevant regional players; Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, China, Russia, and yes, Iran.

January 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Defence Minister A.K. Antony Tuesday denied that US interests in Afghanistan were restraining India from taking military action against Pakistan over the Mumbai terror attack.