Elements behind 9/11, Mumbai, Swat have common roots

‘Elements behind 9/11, Mumbai, Swat have common roots’

* Holbrooke says India-Pakistan tensions must be reduced 
* State Department says US interested in results of anti-terror efforts


LAHORE/WASHINGTON: The militants involved in 9/11, the Mumbai attacks and unrest in Swat have common roots, US special envoy Richard Holbrooke told a meeting in Washington on Thursday, a private TV channel reported.

In the meeting to review the Afghanistan-Pakistan situation, he said the US was troubled and confused about the development in the Swat valley, another TV channel said. According to the channel, Holbrook said in an interview that progress in the Swat valley was not an encouraging trend and that the US would not like militants to get hold of any territory in Pakistan.

According to another news channel, Holbrooke also said victory in Afghanistan was not achievable in purely military terms. 

Reducing tensions between India and Pakistan was imperative to get Pakistan more focused on the terrorism war along the border with Afghanistan, Holbrooke told a US TV channel.

The diplomat – who this week returned from his first South Asian visit – argued that “this is the first time since the independence of Pakistan and India, over 60 years ago, that India, Pakistan, and the US share a common threat from terrorists”. 

He told the channel that Pakistan and Afghanistan would send their delegations to Washington to participate in regional strategy review discussions next week. An Indian delegation will also visit Washington in the coming weeks. 

Results: Meanwhile, the US State Department said the US was interested in seeing results of anti-terrorism efforts in Pakistan and will continue to stay in touch with Pakistani officials over this week’s Swat peace arrangement.

Deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid was asked to elaborate on Ambassador Richard Holbrooke’s remarks to PBS channel that he was confused at the development in Swat. In his reply, the spokesman said: “These types of deals have happened before and (in that context) the direction of events in Swat valley are not in going in a positive way. What we do want to see is results.”

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