Pakistan

WikiLeaks: India told US to beware of Pakistan’s ‘game’ in Afghanistan

Indian govt official said Islamabad would show “fabricated” evidence of alleged Indian misbehaviour in...

Express June 08, 2011

An Indian government official told the United States in 2010 that it believed Islamabad would likely show US government officials “fabricated” evidence of alleged Indian misbehaviour in Afghanistan to drive India out of the region.

A WikiLeaks cable filed by US Political Counselor Uzra Zeya in New Delhi in February last year contains details of his meeting with YK Sinha, India’s A/S equivalent for Afghanistan. The US diplomat wrote:

Sinha told PolCouns that India welcomes increased coordination with the US government “at all levels, here and in Kabul” regarding assistance activities in Afghanistan “so that our respective interests are not undermined by Pakistan.”

According to the cable, Sinha added that he believed “it is quite clear to India” that Pakistan views Afghanistan “as a zero sum game and they want India out of Afghanistan.”

He stated that “we will not leave Afghanistan because we have strategic interests there.”

In the meeting, Sinha also acknowledged that he was aware that the US government “needs Pakistan for many things right now” but warned them to beware of Pakistan’s “game” of enlisting American support to “drive India out of Afghanistan.”

Sinha ended the meeting by asserting that an impulsive US exit from the region would embolden “fanatics” to feel they had defeated both the USSR and the US, “and the result will be very bad for the region.”

Cable Referenced: WikiLeaks no. 250219

The full text of the cables can be read on Dawn.com, The Hinduand NDTV. WikiLeaks has previously released cables to other media organisations including Guardian and the New York Times.

COMMENTS (19)

no aman ki aasha nor war | 12 years ago | Reply first thing is Afghanisthan is INdia's neighbour...remember...we share border with Afghanistan for a short distance at our land kahsmir which Pakisthan has occupied....remember...or else go and see the map..... atleast we are free and fair( thats questionable), but atleast we have not become fanatic yet...majority still have some sense and humane....

AMJAD | 12 years ago | Reply @edgarm Pakistan never invited US to fight against USSR. However it was the convergence of security interests of the two countries which kept them together to contain the Soviet onslaught. In any case due to Pakistan's ethnic, religious, geographic and historic bondage with Afghanistan, Pakistan could not have kept itself out of the conflict. It is almost the same situation in which Pakistan finds itself today. By taking a position against Soviet Union, Pakistan, over night, became the darling of the so called free world and except for a few countries the entire world including people of Afghanistan stood behind Pakistan. You can see that even in the current Afghan conflict, once again Pakistan has sided with the West but this time abandoned the people of Afghanistan. If in the previous case Soviet Union was the occupational power then in the present case US is occupational force. Naturally, as for as the Afghans are concerned they are still fighting against a power which has committed aggression against their country and they see Pakistan as a collaborator of the aggressor. We know one thing for certain that no force or power can kill the spirit of Afghan people and they will continue fighting till they have driven the aggressor out of their motherland. Primarily for this reason Pakistan has been advocating a negotiated solution.

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malik | 12 years ago | Reply @Ali: India already has a population 1.2 billion...why would they want to annex Pakistan and add some more 180 millions of indoctrinated people to their country? Are they mad or what? India does not want to annex even Bangladesh. In fact, Indians are terrified that Bangladeshis are entering India as illegal immigrants and planning a massive border fence prevent immigration. Indians are only worried that no further refugees come to India again, like they did in 1971. Indians are also very very worried that refugees from Pakistan might start lining up at the Wagah border when Pakistan starts imploding when Taliban annexes them, which is on the cards and in case, you don't know, the countdown has already started at midnight May 2, 2011.

edgarm | 12 years ago | Reply @AMJAD: Please remember that it was Pakistan under General Zia ul Haq , who invited the US to fight the Soviets using the Mujahideen , the original Taliban. Today its payback time for Pakistan.

AMJAD | 12 years ago | Reply @ fawaz I am sorry, your comments are based on lack of information and influenced by the usual propaganda churned out by the Anti Pakistan Propaganda Machines installed in India. First of all let me tell you that Iran , Pakistan, India gas pipeline is a 9 billion dollar project. After its installation, Iran would have earned initially, 6 to 8 billion dollars per annum and subsequently with the the application of gas pricing formula, Iranian income could have gone up to 12 to 15 billion dollars over a period of 10 years. By destabilizing Baluchistan, US has been able to deprive Iran of huge income for many years to come. This is known as undeclared ECONOMIC BLOCKADE OF IRAN. Dear friend you are once again wrong in your assertion that Baluchistan produces gas but people are forced to burn wood. Let me tell you that all the major cities and towns of Baluchistan, like the major cities and towns of rest of the Pakistan, have natural gas in domestic use. Most of the far flung rural areas of Baluchistan like the rural areas of rest of the Pakistan, do not have gas for domestic use and perforce have to use LPG or in certain cases wood. Now let me give you Pakistan’s gas production figures which are also available on the internet. As of today Pakistan is producing and utilizing a total of 2713 mmcfd of natural gas which we are getting from 34 gas fields located all over Pakistan. Out of the total of 2713 mmcfd, Baluchistan is contributing to the national grid 513 mmcfd from its 4 gas fields including Sui. Today the country is getting 2200 mmfcd from 30 gas fields which are located in other three provinces of Pakistan. The point which I wanted to highlight was that it is not Baluchistan alone but all the four provinces of Pakistan which have their share in gas production. Propaganda apart, there is no question that Baluchistan will ever be ignored. Even if Baluchistan did not have any gas, they still would have got it like any other province of Pakistan. My dear brother my advice to you will be that always verify the facts before you comment.

AMJAD | 12 years ago | Reply @ Thinking If you go through the news item under discussion, you will find that reference has been given as “wikileaks cables no. 221326 and 250219”, released by Hindu and NDTV of India. As for as the assumption, “ Pakistan playing double game” is concerned, it is all US and Indian propaganda and your “Thinking” seems to be influenced by that. We know that due to their wrong policies in Afghanistan, US has created too much of mess which they now want Pakistan to clear for them. Pakistan has already sacrificed in terms of men and material more than any other nation in the world. Pakistan had also apprehended and handed over to US, more 500 Al-Qaida and Taliban leaders, including Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, the master mind of 9/11. This has been repeatedly acknowledged by the US and its Western allies. Even today, this fact has been acknowledged by the State Department Spokesman, Mr. Toner, in response to a question asked by an Indian journalist, during the weekly briefing. You should appreciate that Pakistan does not have unlimited capability to go and fight the Taliban in areas of our interest and also the areas of US interest. We also know that US is holding secret negotiations with Taliban to create a situation in which they can withdraw with some face saving grace but on the other hand want Pakistan to over stretch its resources and keep fighting the Taliban forever. The US will leave Afghanistan but Pakistan will be here to deal with the Aftermath. People of Pakistan strongly feel that enough is enough and there is no need for Pakistan to provoke every group of Taliban because US wants us to do. By the way US is following double faced policy. They say that Pakistan is their ally in war on terror but they never check those terrorists who cross the border from Afghanistan and attack the Pakistani border check posts. Similarly the US is holding secret talks with the Taliban but wants Pakistan to keep fighting. We know that there are no good or bad Taliban. They are all just the same but we do not afford to get involved with each Taliban for the reasons explained above.

Loler | 12 years ago | Reply @AMJAD: Ohhh! So you are the guy who supplies intelligence data to Caliph Zaid Hamid!! BTW, your "urdu saying" is most likely Punjabi.

Ramdamo | 12 years ago | Reply @Arslan: you provide proof that india is not creating trouble in PAkistan ???? everyone knows that indian ngos from afghanistan pay people to engage in terrorism in pakistan

Ali | 12 years ago | Reply @Koena: You indians just ignore facts. Why is india meddling in afghanistan? you have no border with that country.You just hate pakistan and still want to annex us , just admit it. you troll ok pakistan websites wishing you could still rule us

fawaz | 12 years ago | Reply @AMJAD: u think India and USA will do it for just Iran Pakistan gas pipeline,typical Pakistani propaganda first see whats happening in Baluchistan.people in Islamabad have access to Sui gas but people in Baluchistan have to use wood for basic things.neither India nor USA have done this "as there strategic interest" it was government of Pakistan.stop blaming outsider for your mistakes.REM BANGLADESH.

Roflcopter | 12 years ago | Reply lol india......

AMJAD | 12 years ago | Reply @Koena Please do not feel offended. It is a reality that India is involved in destabilizing Balochistan. Sufficient evidence is also available but Pakistan will not like to show it to US because we know that whatever is happening in Balochistan is well within the American designs too. If you may recall, India, Pakistan and Iran had a plan to lay a trans border Gas Pipeline which was opposed by US. India, while negotiating the nuclear deal, had ultimately agreed not to be part of this project as a favour to US. On the other hand Pakistan was keen to go ahead with the project particularly when they realized that US is not prepared to conclude a nuclear agreement as they have done in the case of India. Now as long as Balochistan remains destabilized there will be no chance of laying the pipe line and this what US wants. Hence India and US have strategic convergence of interests in Balochistan. Dear sister, I have enjoyed reading your example of parents and children which is absolutely relevant to our society. But in case of Balochistan, unfortunately, it is the Super Power’s design which is being implemented. In the context of India and Pakistan a peculiar mind-set prevails on both side of the divide. Whenever there is any act of terrorism or sabotage in India or Pakistan, people on both side, do not take much time in blaming their adversary. Some times the people may be right in their guess but ideally such hasty reactions should be avoided if we are really interested in peace between India and Pakistan.

Thinking | 12 years ago | Reply LOL @ AMJAD. Please show us all these WikiLeaks articles. No one else can find them. Links would be greatly appreciated. India was the first one to realize Pakistan's double game. Now the US realizes it too as does most of the world. In fact even most intelligent Pakistanis including the writers of ET get it. Every day, intelligent Pakistanis are publishing editorials begging Pakistan to stop its double game. While the rest of the world will pay a small price for Pakistan's double game, Pakistan itself will suffer greatly. You can continue to cut your nose to spite your face or save your once-proud nation and make it a prosperous and thriving country. I fear that that decision on where Pakistan wants to go cannot be delayed too much longer.

Koena | 12 years ago | Reply @AMJAD: There have been no Wikileaks releases about Indian involvement in Balochistan. Your problem is the same as the rest of Pakistan. You thrive on lies and conspiracy theories, which have absolutely gutted the nation - just like the parents who falsely claimed that their child was doing great in school, to improve their image in society, not realizing that it was harming their own child.

G Ahmed | 12 years ago | Reply It is nice to see the US is using an Indian (Uzra Zeya) from Bihar as their political affairs expert.

Bangash | 12 years ago | Reply Hey Pakistan is just copying Indian tactics of supporting Mukti Bahini.

Arslan | 12 years ago | Reply @AMJAD: Any proof/links/sources ?

R S JOHAR | 12 years ago | Reply The Indian govt official comments were totally valid as well as honest.

AMJAD | 12 years ago | Reply Wikileaks has in fact provided a proof of Indian involvement in subversive activities in Balochistan province of Pakistan. Famous urdu saying, " Chore ki Darrhi Mein Tinka" fits in well in this situation. The other day wikileaks had also leaked out a confession by the Afghan Interior Minister that in Afghanistan they have a Baloch dissidents camp housing approximately 500 Baloch young men. All these things put together one can clearly imagine the Afghanistan/India nexus to undermine Pakistan's national security. Although I am not an advocate of Tit for Tat but unfortunately India is not likely to understand any other language. While the two countries have resumed the composite dialogue then in order make the negotiations successful both the countries should refrain from subversion against each other.

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