Trump renews mediation offer on ‘explosive’ Kashmir issue

ISLAMABAD: A day after his telephonic conversation with the leaders of Pakistan and India, US President Donald Trump has once again offered mediation between the two neighbouring countries on the “explosive and complicated” issue of Kashmir.

“Kashmir’s a very complicated place. You have the Hindus, and you have the Muslims, and I wouldn’t say they get along so great,” Trump told reporters in the White House on Tuesday.

President Trump said for mediation, he would do his best and expected possibility of discussion with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the weekend. The two leaders are due to meet at the G7 summit in France. “I think, we are helping in the situation. But there is tremendous problem between those two countries and I will do the best I can to mediate or do something. It’s a complicated situation. A lot has to do with religion,” Trump told the reporters.

Terming the situation “explosive”, the US President said the leaders of the two countries were facing a tough situation. “And frankly it’s a very explosive situation. I spoke to Prime Minister Khan, and yesterday I spoke to PM Modi; and they are both friends of mine, and they are great people. And they love their countries, and they are in a very tough situation,” he said.

Earlier on July 22, President Trump had first offered to mediate between Pakistan and India over Kashmir at a White House news conference with Prime Minister Imran Khan during his official visit to Washington DC.

“Pakistan welcomes the mediation offer by the US and considers it one among the three broad options available to address the longstanding issue of Kashmir,” a highly-placed government official told media persons here in Islamabad.

Other available legal and political options that Pakistan currently weighing is to approach the International Court of Justice and mobilisation of diaspora to highlight the issue at international legislative fora.

Pakistan recently gained a diplomatic edge over India after its efforts through China successfully ended up in convening a meeting of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to discuss the standoff between the two South Asia states on Kashmir issue.

“Even the United Kingdom, which has not supported Pakistan publicly due to its economic stakes in India, in the closed-door UNSC meeting stated that the human rights violations in Indian occupied Kashmir must be investigated,” the official apprised the media persons of the meeting’s inside story.

The official termed Russian support for the UNSC meeting “titanic shift and test of its relations” with Pakistan. After 54 years, Kashmir was discussed at UNSC’s international forum, rejecting India’s claim about the dispute as its internal matter.