Pak 'shocked' by Obama's endorsement of India

 
Though it had an inkling that Obama might make a major announcement during his visit to India, the Foreign Ministry was shocked by the announcement, diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.

Obama's remarks welcoming "India as it prepares to take its seat on the United Nations Security Council," made in the course of his address to Indian parliament on Monday, shocked and dismayed mandarins of the Foreign Office, the sources said.

The Foreign Office issued a statement shortly after Obama's address in which it expressed its opposition to the US backing for India's efforts to enter the UN Security Council while Foreign Secretary Salman Bashir conveyed Islamabad's disappointment to American envoy Cameron Munter during a meeting on Monday night.

Munter was called in to the Foreign Office, where Bashir conveyed Pakistan's apprehensions and concerns over the stand taken by Obama, the sources said.

Pakistan's military leadership is expected to take up the same issue with Gen David Patraeus, the commander of US and allied forces in Afghanistan, when he visits Islamabad on November 12, the sources said.

Ahead of Obama's visit to India, the Foreign Office had received indications from Washington that he might make some major announcements while in New Delhi.

In an apparent reaction to these indications, the Foreign Office had said in a statement issued on November 5 that called on the US not to grant any concession to India that could affect the strategic balance in South Asia.