Richard Holbrooke cancels trip to India: US

Washington, Jul 24: US President Barack Obama's special representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan Richard Holbrooke has cancelled his trip to India.

US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters here on Thursday, Jul 23 that a mismatch in terms of scheduling had led to the cancellation of the trip to New Delhi.

"I think the Ambassador (Holbrooke) is not going to stop in India on this trip. There was a mismatch in terms of scheduling. So, he will do that on this - on a future trip to the region," Crowley said.

A former senior US official said, "There's a hornet's nest in India now because of opposition attacks on two parts of the India-Pakistan joint statement just agreed in Sharm el-Sheikh. I suppose it's possible the Indians didn't want a discussion about Pakistan with the United States just now. But I doubt that's the reason."

Holbrooke is currently in Afghanistan after completing a two-day visit to Pakistan. He is said to have told the Pakistani leadership during his visit that there was a need to keep India informed about developments taking place in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Before leaving Islamabad, he said, that the United States is concerned and would address Pakistan's reservations on the American-led surge against the Taliban and al Qaeda in Afghanistan, which may force the insurgents to sneak into Pakistan's remote tribal areas.

ANI