India keen to play a role in post-Taliban set up

WASHINGTON, Oct 10 (UNI): India has made it clear that its views must be taken into account in the constitution of any post-Taliban establishment in Afghanistan, according well-placed diplomatic sources here.

The sources said India has conveyed its desire to be part of thepolitical equation in post-Taliban setup and also participate inreconstruction efforts in areas such as agriculture, engineering andpublic health.

India would like to play a constructive role in post-Taliban phase of reconstruction in Afghanistan, the sources added.

They said India had been assured that terrorist outfits such as Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad operating in Kashmir would be added to the US list of foreign terrorist groups, many of whose assets were recently ordered frozen by the Bush administration.

Indian officials had expressed optimism that such a decision onbranding those outfits would come soon.

On the congressional waiver to president Bush to lift weapons-related sanctions against Pakistan, India had expressed strong reservations about resumption of military supplies to Pakistan.

But officials, however, indicated that the development did not necessarily mean that arms supplies to Pakistan would resume immediately.

As for the internal situation in Pakistan following the US military strikes in Afghanistan, India s assessment was that things were not as bad for president Pervez Musharraf as made out to be.

This was because he was able to quell demonstrations and rioting without having to deploy the army and had managed the situation with the help of riot police.

On Secretary of state Powell s planned visit to India, the sources said it was part of the ongoing high-level dialogue between the o countries.

India s relationship with the US has been on a high pedestal, they said, and the governments of the two countries had been consulting each other on crucial issues such as US missile defense plan and more recently the us strikes in Afghanistan.