A political storm has erupted in India over remarks by President Donald Trump that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to help mediate the longstanding dispute between New Delhi and Islamabad over the region of Kashmir.
“I’d like to categorically assure the house that no such request was made by the prime minister to the U.S. president,” Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told parliament Tuesday as infuriated lawmakers demanded a clarification.
Opposition leaders wanted a personal statement from Modi to confirm that there was no change in the country’s policy of addressing the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan bilaterally.
Trump made his comments regarding Kashmir at the White House, where he met Monday with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. “If I can help, I would love to be a mediator,” Trump said.
Trump’s statement drew a strong reaction because India has long drawn a red line over any suggestion that a third party could assist the two longtime rivals solve the intractable dispute over Kashmir – the Himalayan region divided between them and claimed by both.
Jaishankar clarified that existing agreements will provide the basis to resolve their issues.
“As the president made clear, the United States stands ready to assist if requested by both India and Pakistan,” a senior Trump administration official told VOA when asked to respond to India’s denial that Modi asked Trump to mediate the Kashmir issue.
“While Kashmir is a bilateral issue for both parties to discuss, the Trump administration welcomes Pakistan and India sitting down and the United States stands ready to assist,” tweeted Alice Wells, the acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia.
India has been demanding that Pakistan take steps to dismantle the infrastructure of Islamic militant groups based in Kashmir. Islamabad denies that it supports such groups.
Pakistan has long sought U.S. mediation in the Kashmir dispute, but the United States has previously said the issue must be solved bilaterally.
Kashmir has been the cause of two of the three wars between India and Pakistan and continues to be a flashpoint between the nuclear-armed neighbors.