'India, Pak and US have common enemy'

Obama Administration's top diplomat for Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke, who has already visited New Delhi twice to brief Indian leaders of President Obama's AfPak strategy, on Tuesday said that due to elections India had not gotten fully engaged in the regional approach that is an integral part of the US strategy.

However, he predicted that once the elections were completed and a new Indian government was in place, he fully expected New Delhi to play an important role in helping to stabilise the region.

Holbrooke, appearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee to testify on the subject of From Strategy to Implementation: the Future of the US-Pakistan Relationship, said, "Ever since I took this job, India's been in election campaign. They're voting right now; there's 700 million people voting."

While acknowledging that "they have been listening," and that "they've been very interested," he said that "they have not taken any clear positions at this point."

But Holbrooke said that "the elections will be finished in about less than two weeks, and I look forward to returning (to New Delhi) and then I would be happy to return and give you a better answer," about how India views Washington's regional approach that includes New Delhi.

However, he said that "let me just say one thing -- they really do share the understanding that what's happening in western Pakistan is of direct concern to them. The Indian have been public in saying they're not happy with the cooperation they got after the Mumbai attacks. We all know that."

Holbrooke nonetheless argued that he believed "that for the first time since partition, India, Pakistan and the United States have a common threat -- a common enemy -- and a common task. And, I hope that after the elections and after these bills (in Congress for aid to Pakistan) that are working the Hill work their way through, that we will be able to move to more of a consensus that a common threat requires common actions."

"But there are a lot of moving parts here," he added.

Earlier, Holbrooke asked if the Pakistanis were hesitant in rooting out the militant groups either because they believe that they can't do it or because of the problems they have with India and hence want to maintain these groups for strategic depth against New Delhi, replied, "We have long felt that our friends in Pakistan could put more resources into the struggle in the west."

"They have been reluctant to do so because of their longstanding concerns and past history with India," he said, but pledged, "We will continue to press on that."