Untitled - orsam

The Mirwaiz said he was in favour of dialogue, but called for a conducive atmosphere for
the talks.
Read more: Mirwaiz targeted again, BJP men held in Kolkata (The Times of India)
India was deliberately kept out of the Turkey-sponsored meeting on Afghanistan earlier
this year to address the “sensitivities” of Pakistan, according to the documents released
by WikiLeaks.
Reflecting Islamabad’s insistence at every international fora that New Delhi be kept out
of any meeting on Afghanistan, a top Turkish diplomat told U.S. officials early this year
that India was kept out to address the concerns of Pakistan, WikiLeaks said.
At a meeting with the U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, William Burns,
Rauf Engin Soysal, who then was the Turkey’s Deputy Under-Secretary for Bilateral
Political Affairs responsible for the Middle East, South Asia and Africa, said Turkey had
not invited India to the Afghan neighbours summit in deference to Pak sensitivities.
Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and Afghan President Hamid Karzai met in Istanbul for
a Turkish—sponsored talks to discuss cooperation against extremists in Afghanistan
earlier this year.
“He (Soysal) said Turkey had not invited India to the neighbours summit in deference to
Pakistani sensitivities; however, he claimed, Pakistan understands attempting to exclude
India from the nascent South Asian regional structures would be a mistake,” says the
confidential State Department cable dated February 25, 2010.
Mr. Soysal, a former Turkish Ambassador to the Pakistan from 2007 to 2009, and his
country’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan in September was
appointed by the U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki—moon, as the Special Envoy for
Assistance to Pakistan.
Sayfa 90