ISLAMABAD - United States President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate on Kashmir between Pakistan and India still stands if New Delhi agrees to the role, Washington has told Islamabad.
Senior government officials told The Nation that US said it cannot play a role if India does not accept it. “They (the US) have been in contact and are serious to contribute but want India to agree to it also. They don’t want to impose themselves. Trump’s offer stands subject to India agreeing to it,” said a close aide of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Another official said that Pakistan believes India was not accepting a third party role because of ‘the ground realities’ in Kashmir. “We have told the US to see for themselves, who is running away from the dialogue. Pakistan is ready for bilateral talks and we are ready for mediation by influential countries. India is not ready for both,” he pointed out.
The official said the US wants both Pakistan and India to invite the US for the mediation role to move forward.
Trump had offered to mediate between Pakistan and India when Prime Minister Imran Khan met him in Washingtonian July. India declined to accept the offer saying Kashmir was a bilateral issue.
Washington says Islamabad, Delhi have to invite US for arbitration
Over the weekend, US Senator and Democrat presidential candidate Bernie Sanders expressed deep concern over the situation in Indian Occupied Kashmir.
He sought an immediate end to the ongoing communications blockade in the occupied territory. Terming India`s actions in Kashmir as unacceptable, he said India had denied the Kashmiri people access to basic health facilities.
Bernie Sanders urged the current US government to speak out boldly in support of a UN backed peaceful resolution of the Kashmir dispute.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Imran Khan once again reminded the world to realize serious threats posed to the regional peace by the supremacist Hindu group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
PM Khan said the whole India “is under the control of that extremist ideology, threatening the very fabric of Indian society, as all minorities were being systematically targeted.”
He said that Pakistan was facing the “RSS supremacist threat which has engulfed India, a nuclear armed country with a population of over one billion people.”
He referred to the recent development in India’s Assam region where 1.9 million minorities, including the Muslims, were being stripped of their nationality.
Last month, PM Khan had successfully appealed for a UN Security Council meeting but no conclusion was drawn at the meeting. India has maintained that the Kashmir constitutional change was an internal matter and that the region was gradually heading to normal situations after a clampdown which began on August 5.
Telephone lines, internet services were cut while a curfew was implemented with troops securing the area. Leaders were detained from leaving or entering the region. As recently as last week, Indian lawmaker and former Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and a delegation were sent back from Srinagar to Delhi, with authorities citing reasons of ‘maintaining peace and normalcy.’
PM Khan said the major world powers had a responsibility to help the oppressed Kashmiris, but even if they do not do, “we will go with the Kashmiris till our last breath.”
Yesterday, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi blasted Indian Prime Minister Narender Modi for demonstrating the same mindset like Hitler and Mussolini that started the World War–II and brought disaster across world.
He said that Kashmir was suffering from this mindset at the moment being cut off from the world for almost a month now and people being put through the worst circumstances.
The Foreign Minister expressed the hope that the European Parliament will discuss the matter which is on their agenda in September 2 meeting and will raise the voice for Kashmiris.
