The US special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan says that India has to play an important role in supporting the Afghan people, as US expedites its diplomatic efforts to end the Afghan crisis. Mr. Marc Grossman, who made this statement on Friday in New Delhi, is currently visiting India, Pakistan and Afghanistan to encourage greater reconciliation in the region before June when President Barack Obama is expected to start withdrawing troops from Afghanistan.

Mr. Grossman will also be visiting Saudi Arabia, which is helping the Afghan government in reaching out to the Taliban insurgents for ending violence in the war-torn country.

Mr. Grossman said he knows they`re all interested in Pakistan, but really, it’s important to talk about the United States and India in all of this, when Indian journalist asked him several questions on Pakistan. He added that they’ve just had a very important consultation about the United States and India in Afghanistan.

He said please, don’t forget this is not just about Pakistan, it’s about the important role India has to play in supporting the Afghan people. In another development the counter-terrorism chief of US State Department Daniel Benjamin urged Pakistan to engage with the US and other allies to counter Lashkar-e-Taiba, which he described as a large and dangerous organization.

He said that he would not characterize it as an (Al Qaeda) affiliate, though its ideology bears many similarities, the continued menace of Lashkar-e-Taiba, a large, well-armed, technically capable terrorist group, adds to the overall high threat level in South Asia.

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