Trump may mediate to de-escalate Pak-India tension: US envoy

UNITED NATIONS: The Trump administration will try and “find its place to be a part” of efforts to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley has said, while also suggesting that President Donald Trump may also participate in the process.

“It’s absolutely right that this administration is concerned about the relationship between India and Pakistan and very much wants to see how we de-escalate any sort of conflict going forward,” she said while answering a question at a press conference on Monday after the United States assumed the presidentship of the UN Security Council for the month of April.

Ambassador Haley, who is of Indian ancestry, was asked whether the US would make any effort to get India and Pakistan to engage in peace talks.

“I would expect that the (Trump) administration is going to be in talks and try and find its place to be a part of that (process),” she told reporters.

“We don’t think we should wait till something happens. We very much think that we should be proactive in the way that we are seeing tensions rise and conflicts start to bubble up, and so we want to see if we can be a part of that,” the US envoy added.

“I think that will be something that you will see members of the (US) National Security Council participate in, but also wouldn’t be surprised if the president participates in that as well.”

It was the first comment by a member of the Trump administration on the escalating tensions between the South Asian neighbours stemming mainly from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government refusal to resume dialogue with Pakistan to try and settle their outstanding problems.

Earlier in the day, the United Nations said it’s military observer group mandated to monitor the ceasefire violations in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region is investigating the reported violations in the Azad Kashmir side of the Line of Control (LoC), alleged cease-fire violations are being investigated by the UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) in Azad Kashmir at Domel, Kotli and Bhimber, where the security situation had been tense, UN Secretary-General’s Spokesman Stephne Dujarric said in a statement.

The UN has been voicing concerns over the continuing tensions between India and Pakistan.

“We continue to underline the need for the parties to find a peaceful solution through engagement and dialogue,” the statement added.

The UNMOGIP was deployed in January 1949 to supervise the ceasefire between India and Pakistan in the State of Jammu and Kashmir. While Pakistan allows UN observers to monitor the LoC, India does not.

The group, based in Rawalpindi, is composed of 44 military observers, supported by 25 international civilian personnel and 47 local civilian staff.