Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The US on Friday refused to entertain a Pakistani journalist’s question about whether President Donald Trump was still willing to play mediator between India and Pakistan over the Jammu and Kashmir issue, if both countries were interested.
Asked if Trump was still willing to mediate like he had claimed during his first term in office, US State Department spokesperson, Tammy Bruce said during a press briefing, “I’m not going to be remarking on it. I will say nothing more on that situation. The President and the Secretary have said things, as has the Deputy Secretary.”
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The remarks come at a time when the relationship between India and Pakistan is at an all-time low with Pakistani-backed terrorists targeting tourists in Jammu and Kashmir. The terror attack took place when US Vice President JD Vance was on a state and personal visit to India.
“President Trump and Secretary Rubio have made clear, the United States stands with India, strongly condemns all acts of terrorism. We pray for the lives of those lost and pray for the recovery of the injured and call for the perpetrators of this heinous act to be brought to justice,” Tammy Bruce added, clarifying the US’s stance on the Pahalgam terrorist attack.
Soon after the attacks that killed 26 tourists, The Resistance Front (TRF), an offshoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, claimed responsibility for the terror incident, saying that the group was against granting of residency permits to “outsiders” in the Valley.
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The question posed before the US State Department spokesperson pertains to Trump’s first term at The Oval Office when he had said on two occasions that India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approached him to mediate over the Kashmir issue.
“If both Pakistan, let’s say, and India wanted me to do that, I am ready, willing, and able. It’s a complex issue,” said Trump in 2019.
Months back in 2019, he had first offered to mediate between the two nations during then-Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan’s state visit to US.
Soon after Trump’s remarks, India rejected the US President’s claims, clarifying that PM Modi never asked him to mediate.
The Ministry of External Affairs took to X and said that “no such request” had been made from India’s end.
The same was reiterated by Foreign Minister S Jaishankar on the floor of the House. In a separate incident, Jaishankar said that India wouldn’t be accepting any third-party mediation when it came to bilateral issues with Pakistan.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
