Advertisement

Help
You are here: Rediff Home » India » News » PTI
Search:  Rediff.com The Web
Advertisement
   Discuss   |      Email   |      Print | Get latest news on your desktop

Pakistan funding Mujahideen in Kashmir is counterproductive: Obama
Related Articles
US has got to get Afghanistan right: Obama

Get news updates:What's this?
Advertisement
July 28, 2008 12:17 IST

Noting that Pakistan has tolerated or in some cases funded the Mujahideen [Images] in Kashmir, US Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama [Images] has said such efforts are "counterproductive" for Islamabad.

Ahead of his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Obama said historically Pakistan has tolerated or in some cases funded the Mujahideen because they think it's somehow helpful to them in Kashmir, which continues to be a "constant instigator" of tension between Islamabad and New Delhi [Images].

"We have to have an honest account about how counterproductive that is," Obama said in an interview, published in the Wall Street Journal on Monday.

Asked whether the US should play a role in negotiations been Pakistan and India, he said, "Use that as an example of how we need to think comprehensively about the region. If one of the central concerns of Pakistan is its security posture towards India, then we need to put that on the table for discussion as we try to solve the problems in Afghanistan."

Asked about the forthcoming talks between Gilani and President George Bush [Images] in Washington, Obama said the US must emphasise the importance of closing down terrorist camps.

"It's not just in the interest of Afghan security, or US security, it is in the interest of Pakistani security that we shut those bases down," he said.

"I know that the new prime minister is coming to Washington. I'll be very interested in hearing what he has to say. Obviously, they're a new government. I think it's very important that we emphasise to them how serious we take these base camps," he added.


© Copyright 2008 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.
 Email  |    Print   |   Get latest news on your desktop

© 2008 Rediff.com India Limited. All Rights Reserved. Disclaimer | Feedback