Holbrooke Says He’s not in Pak to Negotiate on Kashmir
On a visit to Pakistan, US Special Envoy for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke has said that his visit has nothing to do with the Indo-Pak problem and that he is not in Pakistan to negotiate on the Kashmir issue.
He said in a TV interview that it is upto India and Pakistan to arrive at a solution to the issue bilaterally.
“Any improvement in Pak-India relations is also good for the world,” Holbrooke said.
Responding to a query, he said that he never put any blame on the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) for helping the Taliban.
In response to another question regarding US assistance to Pakistan, he said that Islamabad needed more assistance to triumph over its problems, but emphasized that the US president cannot take such decisions independently.
“Pakistan should remember one thing that the President of the United States cannot take decisions himself, but we can make the request to the Congress,” the Online news network quoted Holbrooke, as saying.
Describing Pakistan’s energy crisis as country’s biggest problem, Holbrooke said that the US is ready in this regard but Pakistan should try to fix the ‘tremendous amount of leakage’ that exists in the whole system.
“US would help in this regard but the government and people of Pakistan have to take lead,” he said.
