India to continue its relief works in Afghanistan: Menon

New Delhi, Mar 18 (ANI):  National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon has said that India will continue with its relief and reconstruction programme in Afghanistan.

"India will continue to help restore the economy and democracy, and build projects that help the Afghan people and also find ways to do it in the environment that existed there today," he said this while releasing the book `India's National Security Annual Review 2009' by Satish Kumar.

Asserting that India was doing what the Afghans want, he said, "We will continue to do that", but "we will find different ways of doing it, which enable us to continue to do it in that environment."

When asked about the status of engagement with Pakistan after the recent foreign secretary-level talks, Menon ruled out the resumption of the composite dialogue process anytime soon.

"Frankly to just go back to doing the composite dialogue exactly as it was when it ended up in 26/11 and other incidences like that, to our mind, it does not make sense," he said.

" We have to learn from history, from what's happened to you, what you are doing. So that's why we are talking. Which is why the whole point of those (Foreign Secretary level) talks was to explore what's possible and where we can go with it. But I cannot describe to you or the outcome because it takes two hands to clap," he added. (ANI)