Islamabad: A prominent Pakistani newspaper has reported quoting "a senior official" that US President Barack Obama during his recent Delhi visit asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resume the stalled India-Pakistan dialogue.
The report said, Obama 'privately encouraged and pushed' Modi to review his hardline approach towards resumption of dialogue with Pakistan.
India's stand has been that Pakistan should refrain from speaking to Kashmiri separatist leaders, if it wants a fruitful bilateral dialogue with India. "Either they (Pakistan) speak to us (India), or to the separatists", the Indian foreign office spokesman had said in August, when the proposed Foreign Secretary level talks in Islamabad was abruptly called off.
According to Express Tribune, Obama during his Delhi visit told Modi that despite ongoing tensions, India must remain engaged with Pakistan. The official said, the Indian PM was told by Obama that Pakistan had taken ‘serious steps' in recent months to eradicate terrorism.
Obama particularly referred to Pakistan government's efforts to ensure that Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi, one of the masterminds of November 2008 Mumbai attacks, remains in jail.
The official told the Pakistani newspaper that Obama's intervention has now raised the possibility of resumption of India-Pak talks, with a diplomatic source claiming that the foreign secretary level talks might resume in March.
According to international relations expert Dr Ishtiaq Ahmed, the United States, as a global power, can influence India's policy vis-a-vis Pakistan.
“In fact the deepening relationship between the US and India is not something really bad for Pakistan,” said Ishtiaq, who is a Jinnah Fellow at the Oxford University.
He added that India's ‘dependency' on the United States, be it defence or nuclear areas, means Americans will have more ‘leverage' over the administration in New Delhi.
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