No power sharing agreement with Taliban: Holbrooke told India

Lalit K Jha
Washington, Dec 3 (PTI) Addressing New Delhi's concerns
about peace talks with Taliban, US told India that it will not
let the rebels enter a power sharing agreement in Afghanistan,
according to leaked US cables by Wikileaks.
While the US special envoy for Af-Pak region Richard
Holbrooke insisted that India is not his area during a meeting
with Indian Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao in January this
year, Rao accompanied by top Indian diplomats sought US
pressure on Pakistan to break its ties with terrorist groups
and to permit Afghanistan's economic links with India to grow.
"During the meeting Holbrooke said that some of the
anxiety stems from confusion between reintegration and
reconciliation," the cable said.
The special envoy said the reintegration program is not a
political negotiation designed to give Taliban elements a
share of power.
"The US cannot be a party to any such arrangement, in his
view, because the Taliban is allied with the Al Qaeda and the
social programs of the Taliban are unpalatable," he said.
Holbrooke also said the Taliban leadership appears to
have no interest in talking to the international community in
Afghanistan.
"Rao said India needs some deliverables on terrorism
before it can engage bilaterally with Pakistan," the cable
said.
The United States has termed the release of these
secret documents as illegal and an act of crime. At the same
time, the US has neither denied or confirmed the authenticity
of each of these cable, which is said to number more than
250,000.
According to the cable, Rao readily agreed to Holbrooke's
request for a briefing on Indian training for Afghan security
personnel, emphasising that this engagement is completely
transparent.
She supported her argument by noting that India had
previously provided a detailed briefing on this at the
US-India Defence Policy Group meetings.
"We have nothing to hide," she said.
"Holbrooke assured Rao that he is in favour of Indian
assistance programs in Afghanistan and is not influenced by
what he hears in Islamabad," the cable said.
"Holbrooke also allayed Indian concerns that UNSCR 1267
policy would be altered with respect to Taliban and LET
leaders such as Mullah Omar, Gulubuddin Hekmatyar, and Hafiz
Saeed," it said. MORE PTI