By Staff Reporter
ISLAMABAD: The US State Department signaled optimism on Tuesday that President Donald Trump could help resolve the decades-old Kashmir dispute, a proposal Pakistan embraced but India swiftly rejected.
The comments arose after reporters pressed the State Department on a recent meeting between Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker and a Pakistani delegation led by Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, chairman of the Pakistan Peoples Party.
During their May 31-June 6 visit, the group pressed the U.S. to leverage its influence to bring India to the negotiating table, sustain the fragile ceasefire, and address unresolved issues, including Kashmir.
US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce confirmed the engagement. “State Department officials, including Under Secretary for Political Affairs Hooker, met with the Pakistani parliamentary delegation during a visit they had to Washington last week. She reiterated U.S. support for the ongoing ceasefire, as you might imagine, thank God, between Pakistan and India. They also discussed important issues to the bilateral relationship, including counterterrorism cooperation.”
Responding to a question on the steps US plans to take in the wake of Trump’s offer,Bruce said: “So, while I can’t speak to his plans, the world knows his nature, and I can’t speak to any details of what he might have in that regard,” adding that the White House would have plenty to say about the matter.
The Pakistani delegation’s visit overlapped with a separate Indian parliamentary delegation in Washington, highlighting the U.S.’s dual role in the region. “We also know that Deputy Secretary Landau met with the Indian parliamentary delegation last week, and he also reaffirmed the United States’ strong support of India in the fight against terrorism, and strategic partnership between those two countries.”
The diplomatic flurry comes amid heightened tensions following Pakistan’s military response to perceived Indian aggression, a sequence of events described by world media as a “humiliating episode” for India. In its wake, the U.S. and other nations stepped in to de-escalate hostilities, culminating in the current ceasefire.
President Trump, claiming credit for the initiative, has since escalated his involvement by offering to mediate between the two nuclear-armed neighbors to resolve all outstanding disputes, including Kashmir.
“I will work with you, both to see if, after a ‘thousand years,’ a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The proposal has been met with enthusiasm in Pakistan but outright dismissal from India, which insists that Kashmir remains a bilateral matter.
Speaking at a news conference in London on Wednesday alongside fellow delegation members, Bhutto Zardari welcomed the U.S. stance. “The repeated statements on the part of President Trump reflect that he desires to establish peace between Pakistan and India,” he said. “The Indian government wants to sabotage President Trump’s noble initiative for peace.”
Bhutto Zardari, who met with over a dozen U.S. lawmakers during his trip, emphasized Pakistan’s commitment to dialogue. “Pakistan desires peace in the region through dialogue and diplomacy,” he said, underscoring the need to resolve all issues, including the Jammu and Kashmir dispute. “Peace between Pakistan and India is in the interest of the international community.”
The Kashmir dispute, rooted in the 1947 partition of British India, has sparked multiple wars and persistent friction between the nuclear armed neighbours.
He accused India of relying on “lies and propaganda” and using terrorism as a foreign policy tool, citing alleged targeting of Sikh activists globally, claims India has consistently denied.
When pressed on potential next steps, such as hosting the prime ministers of both nations or backing a U.N. Security Council resolution, Bruce remained noncommittal. “So it doesn’t, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’d want to manage something like that,” she said of Trump. “He seems very much to be, and not just seems but he is, has been the only one to bring certain people to the table to have conversations that nobody thought was possible.”
She credited Trump, Secretary Rubio, and the vice president for fostering an “exciting time” in diplomacy, adding, “I hope perhaps something like that can also get resolved before the President.”
Copyright © 2021 Independent Pakistan | All rights reserved
