NewsApril 05 , 2017
Ready to de-escalate Pak-India tensions: US
US ambassador to UN says Trump admin concerned about relationship between India and Pakistan; India rejects mediation offerISLAMABAD: The United States says the Trump administration will try to be part of efforts to de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan.
Speaking at a press conference in New York, US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said: “The Trumps administration is concerned about the relationship between India and Pakistan and wants to de-escalate any sort of conflict between the two countries.”
Meanwhile, the United Nations has said that its military observer group has been mandated to monitor the ceasefire violations in the disputed Jammu and Kashmir region.UN Secretary General’s Spokesman Stephne Dujarric said in a statement that the UN had been voicing concerns over the continuing tensions between India and Pakistan.
He underlined the need for a peaceful and negotiated solution of the Kashmir dispute.“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,” Haley said in a clear change of stance from the previous US administration under President Barack Obama.
Meanwhile, India on Tuesday turned down the US offer to mediate with Pakistan, saying its position on bilateral redressal of all issues with Islamabad had not changed yet.“The government’s position on bilateral redressal of all India-Pakistan issues in an environment free of terror and violence hasn’t changed,” Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Gopal Baglay said.
The ministry’s response came after the US Ambassador to the United Nations Nicky Haley hinted an apparent change in her country’s stance of not engaging in bilateral disputes between India and Pakistan.
But at the same time, New Delhi did not rebuff the offer made by the US. In fact, it took the opportunity to urge the international community to “enforce international mechanisms and mandates concerning terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which continues to be the single biggest threat to peace and stability in our region and beyond.”
In August 2014, both India and Pakistan had called off the secretary-level talks after the Pakistan High Commissioner to India Abdul Basit met with Hurriyat Conference leaders ahead of the dialogue.
India had categorically stated that there were only two stakeholders on the Kashmir issue and rejected any other entity as a third party. That red line, however, was blurred subsequently, local Indian media reported on Tuesday.
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk
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