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NEW DELHI: At a time when US-Pakistan relations have hit an all time low, foreign minister S M Krishna on Thursday came up with his own advice to diffuse the situation. Describing the US and Pakistan as friendly powers, Krishna said they should sit across the table and sort out their differences to prevent any devastating consequences for other countries, particularly India.
 
Krishna’s description of US and Pakistan as friendly powers comes at a time when government officials and experts believe that US for the first time seems keen on calling Islamabad’s bluff in not reining in the Haqqani network. As US increases troop presence at the Af-Pak border near Waziristan, Pakistani army chief Ashfaq Perzez Kayani is reported have warned Washington that Pakistan cannot be treated like Afghanistan and Iran because it is a nuclear power.
 
"This question concerns the relationship between two friendly powers, the US and Pakistan. It is India’s desire that all outstanding issues between them are settled across the table and thereby a situation created in the region which will be conducive for development," said Krishna, while addressing the media in the presence of his French counterpart Alain Juppe. He was asked about the ongoing flare-up in US-Pakistan relations.
 
"Anything which upsets the region will have devastating consequences for the developmental agenda of other countries, particularly India. So we sincerely hope they will be able to sort out their differences," he went on to add.
 
In fact, keeping up the pressure on Pakistan, US secretary of state Hillary Clinton said on Thursday that she will deliver a clear message to Islamabad during her visit to Pakistan that there cannot be a safe haven for terrorists anywhere. Juppe too expressed concern over the situation in Pakistan saying that France was developing a dialogue with Pakistan to seek a solution for Afghanistan.
 
"We are worried about the situation in Pakistan. We are aware of the difficulties faced by this country at political, economic and security levels. We think it is absolutely necessary to develop a dialogue with Pakistan because this country has a positive role to play in finding a solution to Afghanistan," he said.
 
"We have also discussed these points with India," he said, adding France has proposed that a collective security mechanism be prepared through this dialogue.
 
In a joint statement, India and France said that they endeavoured to jointly fight international terrorism, which was a common threat, and reiterated that terror cannot be justified on any ground or attributed to any root causes. The two sides also reaffirmed their "solidarity with Afghanistan and the will of the international community to remain committed after the 2014 transition through bilateral and multilateral for a", it said.
 
Looking ahead to the Istanbul Conference of November 2, they welcomed the commitment of the region to work for a stable, peaceful, democratic and independent Afghanistan, achieved through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned process.