F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: The US State Department said on Wednesday it welcomed “productive and peaceful talks” between Islamabad and New Delhi on disputed Kashmir, after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Shehbaz Sharif on taking oath as Pakistan’s new premier.
Kashmir is claimed in full, but controlled only in part, by nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, which have fought two wars and engaged in numerous clashes over the Himalayan region since 1947.
Relations have been particularly tense since 2019 when Modi’s government revoked the special status of Kashmir and split the region into two federally administered territories, provoking outrage in Pakistan and the downgrading of diplomatic ties and suspension of bilateral trade.
“The United States values its relationship with both India and Pakistan, and we want to see them have a productive and peaceful relationship,” US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said when questioned about Modi’s congratulatory message for Sharif.
When asked if the US would welcome future talks between India and Pakistan on all issues, including Kashmir, Miller added:
“Of course we would welcome productive and peaceful talks between India and Pakistan, but the pace, scope, and character of any dialogue is a matter for India and Pakistan to determine.”
Media has widely reported that the two governments have re-opened a back channel of diplomacy since 2021, aimed at a modest roadmap to normalizing ties.
Both countries have reasons to seek a rapprochement. India has been locked in a border stand-off with China and does not want the military stretched on the Pakistan front.
China-ally Pakistan, mired in economic difficulties and on an IMF bailout program that expires this month, can ill-afford heightened tensions on the Kashmir border for a prolonged period, especially as it also faces problems of cross-border militants on its frontiers with Afghanistan and Iran.
courtesy : arab news
