Pakistan not concerned over India's role in Afghanistan

As Pakistan's relations gradually warm up with arch-rival India, the country's Foreign Ministry says it has no concerns at India's role in neighboring Afghanistan. "Afghanistan is a sovereign state. If it has cooperation with another country, it's their bilateral matter. Many countries, including India, are engaged in reconstruction and development work inside Afghanistan," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tasnim Aslam said Thursday. "We believe that leads to stability but at the same time we have very clearly articulated our position that Afghanistan's territory should not be used against Pakistan's interest. Our position and concerns in this regard have been conveyed and they are understood by all stakeholders," she told at a weekly briefing when asked about reports that Russia and India have planned a joint assessment of security in Afghanistan. She confirmed the Indian commerce minister will pay a three-day visit to Pakistan from Feb. 16, which will coincide with a Indian trade fair in Lahore. The spokesperson welcomed a recent statement from Indian Minister for External Affairs Salman Khurshid who says that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif wants to improve relations with India. "We welcome that statement," Aslam said, adding, "We have always said that Pakistan and India need to resume the dialogue process and have meaningful, result-oriented discussions on all the disputes and issues particularly Kashmir." To a question about the progress in the cross-border trade standoff between Pakistan and India over reported smuggling of narcotics into Indian-controlled Kashmir she said investigations are going on to resume the normal trade. "Discussions are on and we would hope that there would be solution and Intra-Kashmir trade would be resumed soon," she said.