US envoy Mulford briefs Indian Government on Holbrooke''s visit

David C MulfordNew Delhi, Feb. 11 : U. S. Ambassador to India, David C Mulford, said on Wednesday that President Barack Obama''s special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, would visit New Delhi soon.

"We just had a meeting to discuss preparation for the Holbrooke visit, but also the visit of the United States congregational delegation with its special guests Martin Luther King Junior-III, Andrew Young former Mayor of Atlanta and the musicians who are coming along. So, there is quite a lot of other issues that we are discussing," Mulford told reporters here after a meeting with External Affairs Ministry officials.

On Wednesday, Holbrooke visited the Mohmand tribal Agency in north west Pakistan, where security forces face an intensifying Islamist insurgency.

Holbrooke arrived in Pakistan late on Monday at the beginning of his first visit since his appointment as envoy to a region moving to centre stage of U. S. foreign policy.

President Barack Obama named Holbrooke as his special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan last month, handing one of the most arduous U. S. security challenges to the man who brokered the 1995 agreement that ended the Bosnian war.

Holbrooke faces a host of challenges in dealing with the war in Afghanistan and an intensifying insurgency in northwest Pakistan while trying to ensure renewed tension between old rivals India and Pakistan doesn''t exacerbate the problems.

The US Embassy''s portal said the U. S. Department of State will support February 2009 celebrations in India to commemorate the tour by the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 50 years ago to study Mahatma Gandhi.

This tour deeply influenced the American civil rights movement.

The delegation, including Martin Luther King, III; civil rights movement veteran Rep. John Lewis; and legendary jazz musician Herbie Hancock, along with other distinguished Americans, will meet with counterparts in India to underscore the enduring importance of the King and Gandhi legacies. (ANI)

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