The US has strongly refuted the Pakistani claim that India has no role in Afghanistan. The new US Commander General David Petraeus has said that New Delhi has a legitimate interest in the region. He said this in response to a question at his confirmation hearing for the US and NATO Commander in Afghanistan before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington. Petraeus's remarks on India came in response to a question from Senator Kay Hagan who said that it has been reported that Pakistan wants to be a channel to the Pashtuns in Afghanistan and wants to utilise reconciliation as themechanism to influence Afghanistan and overt Indian regional encirclement. The Senate Armed Services Committee later confirmed him by a voice vote. His nomination now goes to the full Senate for confirmation. Currently Commander of the US Central Command, Petraeus was nominated as the new US Commander for Afghanistan after Gen Stanley McChrystal was sacked from the post following the appearance of his interview in the Rolling Stone magazine in which he was highly critical of the Obama Administration.