In a sharp contrast to US view on India's role in Afghanistan, President Barack Obama's defence secretary nominee Chuck Hagel has alleged that India has over the years "financed problems" for Pakistan in the war-torn country, according to the Times of India.
A video containing these remarks from an unreleased speech of Hagel at Oklahoma's Cameron University in 2011 was uploaded by Washington Free Beacon, sparking a strong reaction from India which said such comments are "contrary to the reality" of its unbounded dedication to the welfare of Afghans. Hagel, during the speech said, "India for some time has always used Afghanistan as a second front, and India has over the years financed problems for Pakistan on that side of the border".
"And you can carry that into many dimensions, the point being [that] the tense, fragmented relationship between Pakistan and Afghanistan has been there for many, many years," Hagel said. During his trip to Pakistan he told the then Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf that a similar agreement was not on cards with Islamabad, because of the proliferation issues with his country.
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