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Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
India said on Thursday that no country had the right to veto any government in Afghanistan in the post-conflict scenario as Pakistan was seeking to do.
Responding to a question about American Secretary of State Colin Powell's assertion that Pakistan would not be allowed to install a government of its liking in Kabul, external affairs ministry spokeswoman Nirupama Rao said Islamabad opposed any government that included the Northern Alliance.
She said it had been India's consistent endeavour to have a broad-based, representative government in Afghanistan, but New Delhi did not approve of Islamabad's insistence on including "moderate Taleban".
Asked about India's relationship with the government-in-exile of Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani, she said, "We have a close relationship with the Rabbani government."
Rao said the United Front government envisaged by the Northern Alliance was carrying on discussions with other interested Afghan parties. She asserted that the Afghan people would have a major say in the formation of the next government. "We have genuine concern to see peace and stability in Afghanistan," she said.
Asked to comment on the death of 35 Harkat-ul-Mujahideen activists in the bombing in Afghanistan, Rao remarked, "That brings up the question of what these activists were doing in Afghanistan."
She declined to answer a question about a proposed peace-keeping force in Afghanistan from Muslim countries like Turkey and Bangladesh, saying India is still to take a position on this. She said the United Nations was likely to play a major role in the post-conflict scenario.
Answering another question, Rao said National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra was leaving for Dacca on Friday to establish contact with the government of Prime Minister Khaleda Zia and discuss bilateral issues.
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