ISLAMABAD (AFP) — The US troubleshooter on Afghanistan and Pakistan pledged to forge a new strategy and urge allies to do more in the war against Islamist insurgents on a maiden visit Monday to the war-torn region.
Richard Holbrooke, considered a hard-hitting diplomat and the architect of peace in Bosnia, has been tasked with implementing an integrated US strategy towards Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan.
US President Barack Obama has called Afghanistan the main front in the "war on terror" and plans to send a further 30,000 troops, doubling the US military contingent fighting a Taliban-led insurgency alongside 50,000 NATO troops.
Holbrooke will hold top-level talks before "reporting back" to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Obama.
"I am here to listen and learn the ground realities of this critically important country," Holbrooke was quoted as saying in a US embassy statement upon arrival in Islamabad late Monday.
"The United States looks forward to reviewing our policies and renewing our commitment and friendship with the people of Pakistan," he added.
Holbrooke flew into strained ties between Islamabad and Washington, marked by US missile strikes within Pakistan and US criticism that Pakistan is not doing enough to eradicate Islamist "safe havens" on its territory.
Pakistan, reeling from attacks that have killed more than 1,500 people in 20 months and whose weak civilian government is deeply concerned about a worsening domestic blacklash over missile strikes, has welcomed a policy review.
"It is Pakistan's endeavour to develop a fresh perspective on issues of peace, security, stability and the development of the region and in particular address the issues of militancy, terrorism and extremism effectively, by adopting a comprehensive and holistic strategy," the foreign ministry said.
Holbrooke's mission will be further complicated by escalating tensions between India and Pakistan over the Mumbai attacks, which New Delhi has blamed on Pakistan-based militants.
Holbrooke will meet President Asif Ali Zardari, Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi and senior military commanders before leaving on Thursday, the foreign ministry said.
The United States is also seeking assurances from Pakistan that controversial nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who was freed from house arrest last week, will not be involved in atomic proliferation.
In Germany on Sunday, Holbrooke called for a regional approach and urged allies to contribute more to the fight in Afghanistan.
"It is like no other problem we have confronted, and in my view it's going to be much tougher than Iraq," he told a security conference.
"What is required in my view is new ideas, better coordination within the US government, better coordination with our NATO allies and other concerned countries, and the time to get it right," he said.
Afghanistan's neighbours are also part of the solution, he said, particularly Pakistan, which joined the "war on terror" after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
"Pakistan's situation is dire," he said. "It needs international assistance, international sympathy and international support."
Pakistan wants the US missile attacks to end, US aid and renewed diplomacy on Kashmir, an issue at the heart of its troubles with India but which Washington says is not within Holbrooke's mandate.
Senator Khurshid Ahmad, a member of Pakistan's upper house of parliament for the main Islamist party Jamaat-i-Islami and head of an independent think-tank, said the government had to make clear demands of the US.
Pakistan had incurred huge losses by participating in the "war on terror" for which "the US must compensate us," Ahmad said.
"We should clearly tell the US envoy that without resolving the Kashmir issue, there cannot be peace and security in the region," he added.
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