US desire to inject India in Afghanistan would be detrimental, says Pak PM

Islamabad: Rejecting any role for India in Afghanistan, Pakistan Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Monday warned that the Trump administration's desire to inject New Delhi in the war-torn country would be "detrimental".

US President Donald Trump in August unveiled his South Asia policy and vowed to boost strategic partnership with India in Afghanistan. Trump also sought an enhanced role for India to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan.

"We don't believe that injecting India into the Pakistan-US relationship will help resolve anything, especially in Afghanistan, where we don't see any role for India. India has a relationship with the US. That is between them and the US," Abbasi was quoted as saying by the Arab News.

In an interview to the Saudi newspaper, Abbasi said Pakistan wants peace in Afghanistan via a solution that "is owned and led by the Afghans."

The prime minister warned that Washington's desire to include India in Afghanistan would be detrimental.

India has a strategic partnership with Afghanistan and is implementing projects worth USD 2 billion to help rebuild the country's infrastructure.

India has been supporting an Afghan-led, Afghan-owned, broad-based and inclusive process of peace and reconciliation, and advocating the need for a sustained and long-term commitment to Afghanistan by the international community.

Abbasi said Pakistan wants an "equal relationship or partnership with the US, like every other nation."

Asserting that the days of Pakistan depending on the US to meet its military and other requirements are over, the prime minister said the world should recognise Pakistan's efforts in fighting the "worlds war" on terror.

"If one source dries up, we have no option but to go to another source. It may cost more, it may consume more resources, but we have to fight that war, and thats what we emphasised to all the people that we met," he said.

Abbasi said Pakistan has major US weapons systems in its military, but it also possesses Chinese and European systems, and more recently it inducted Russian attack helicopters.