The worrying situation in Pakistan and the threat it poses to stability of the region will figure prominently when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh meets US President Barack Obama for the first time in London on April 2.
With the White House announcing that the two leaders will meet on the sidelines of G-20 summit, the stage is set for the first contact at the highest level between India and the new US administration which assumed office two months ago.
New Delhi has been worried about reports from Washington that the Obama administration wants to reach out to the so-called “good Taliban” in Afghanistan-Pakistan in a bid to control the situation in Afghanistan which has worsened.
The Indian view that there is no such thing as “good” Taliban — they are all terrorists, is likely to be conveyed to the United States, knowledgeable sources said.
The US sees a role for India in stabilising situation in Afghanistan-Pakistan as was conveyed by Deputy Secretary James B Steinberg in Washington the other day where he said, “The United States and India must work together to help address what is one of the most urgent security challenges facing us — to work with the democratic governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to root out the violent forces that threaten the stability of the region and pose a direct danger to the Indian and American homelands.”