Though not specifically mentioning any country, Indian Foreign Minister S. M. Krishna called upon Afghanistan not to let an outside role be played in the process of restoring peace in the country. At a joint press conference held with his Afghan counterpart Zalmay Rasool at Kabul on Sunday, he elicited Mr Rasools endorsement of his point of view. The Afghan Foreign Minister said that the reconciliation process was firmly in the hands of Kabul and that no outside role was being allowed. It should be clear that Mr Krishnas warning against an outside role did not refer to the US and Western allies. He obviously had Pakistan in mind, which is Indias bte noire, and the so-called Taliban, who, in actual fact, are no others than the countrys majority Pashtuns. On both these counts Pakistan and the Taliban however, New Delhi is deliberately and vainly trying to ignore a fundamental reality. By any reckoning, a peaceful Afghanistan is of vital importance to Islamabad. And no reconciliation process that intends bringing an enduring peace to the country could succeed without its active input. The Pashtun population straddles the Pak-Afghan border, with the Pakistani side even containing a larger number of them. They have family relations with one another, and keep exchanging frequent visits. That leaves little doubt about Pakistan getting inevitably involved in any future dispensation for Afghanistan. Denying the Taliban (Pashtuns) any role in the reconciliation process would be a self-defeating exercise. Unless Pashtuns get engaged in designing the framework of future Afghanistan and get their due share in running the affairs of the state, peace would remain a grand illusion. Strangely, while New Delhi professes peace, it does not let an opportunity slip by without airing its anti-Islamabad views that reek of ingrained hostility. This is in total disregard of Pakistans repeated overtures to India to sit across the table with it and decide about the manner of solving disputes that exist between the two countries. Prime Minister Gilani reiterated for the umpteenth time Pakistans desire to hold meaningful talks with New Delhi, during his meeting with German Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle at Ialamabad on Sunday. Indias mantra of first putting an end to terrorist threat is only a cover to evade discussion of crucial issues like Kashmir and water. Time has unfolded the truth of a Hindu terrorist groups attack on Samjhota Express early 2007 in which nearly 70 Pakistanis perished, while finger had constantly been pointed at Islamabad. As terrorism is no ordinary phenomenon that promises to go away any time soon, its existence anywhere is no excuse for stalling solution of other problems, especially those like Kashmir whose continued existence breed fresh bands of terrorists. New Delhi should demonstrate a sense of responsibility as a bigger neighbour and sincerely work for creating a peaceful atmosphere in the subcontinent.