Easing tension between India and Pakistan would help Western efforts in Afghanistan, but it is up to Islamabad and New Delhi to find their own path toward better ties, the U.S. envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan said on Sunday. Richard Holbrooke, who was due to fly to India later on Sunday after visiting Pakistan and Afghanistan, said Washington would welcome better relations between Islamabad and New Delhi, but he has no plans to act as a mediator between the two foes. "President (Barack) Obama has said publicly that if India and Pakistan improve their relations, he would welcome it," Holbrooke told Reuters in an interview in Kabul before leaving for New Delhi. "But it's up to them to do it for themselves. We are not intermediating between Islamabad and New Delhi." "Every time I go to India people say: 'Are you working on this problem? Are you a messenger? Are you an envoy between the two countries?" Holbrooke said. "The answer's 'no.'" He described his visit to India as a "consultative trip, it's not a negotiating trip", unlike his stops in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
