London:
British Prime Minister David Cameron has said India and Pakistan can play a "crucial role" to bring peace to Afghanistan through their resumed bilateral dialogue process.
"India and Pakistan can play a crucial role in bringing peace back in Afghanistan," Cameron told British Asian newspaper "Asian Lite" during a visit to a factory in east England.
"Both countries should recognise the fact that a stable, prosperous and democratic Afghanistan is in their interests too," he said yesterday.
As NATO and US forces prepare for their scheduled withdrawal from Afghanistan next year, the West has pinned its hopes on regional powers like India and Pakistan helping bring stability to the war-torn country.
"The newly elected Pakistan Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, is an experienced politician and he believes India and Pakistan can have a better bilateral relationship. The Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, takes a similar view," Cameron said.
"I hope these two statesmen can act in the interest of both their countries and also the world, fostering better Indo-Pak relations," he said.
India and Pakistan recently agreed to draw up a calendar to resume their bilateral talks.
The initiative was announced after a meeting between External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid and the Pakistani premier's special advisor on foreign affairs, Sartaj Aziz, on the sidelines of a recent ASEAN foreign ministers' meet in Brunei.
Cameron's visit to Lincoln in east England hit the headlines for the wrong reasons as it emerged he had snubbed public transport to spend thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money on a helicopter flight.