President Donald Trump is hopeful of playing a key role in settling the longstanding Kashmir issue between Pakistan and India, the US State Department informed in the media briefing on Tuesday.
The correspondent had submitted the question regarding the recent visit of Pakistan’s nine-member delegation, including former foreign ministers and officials from the foreign office, to the USA, following the recent military escalation with India, last month.
The delegation met the Under Secretary of State, Alison Hooker. The question enquired if the USA will exert its influence and play a role in bringing India to the negotiating table and helping to solve the tensions between India and Pakistan.
Responding to these questions, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated, “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 US 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.”
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“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 the strategic partnership between those two countries,” Bruce added.
Earlier, President Trump had said on his social media platform that he is willing to mediate and settle the long-standing Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan. He has repeatedly taken credit for diffusing the tensions and brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan.
President Trump wrote, “I will work with you, both to see if, after a ‘thousand years,’ a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir.”
When asked if there are any follow-ups on Trump’s offer of mediation, Tammy Bruce said she cannot comment on President Trump’s plan, but he is capable of sorting out these long-standing global conflicts.
“So it doesn’t—it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’d want to manage something like that. 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,” Bruce remarked.
One of the clause of the ceasefire agreement between India and Pakistan was that the representatives of the both the countries shall meet at a neutral venue for negotiations, however, so far no significant progress has been observes in this regard.
“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… But it is an exciting time that if we can get to a point in that particular conflict, thank God but also thank Secretary Rubio and President Trump and the vice president. It is — it’s a very interesting time. And so it’s — every day brings something new, and I hope perhaps something like that can also get resolved before the President,” Bruce concluded.