WASHINGTON – To counter Pakistan’s successful diplomacy, India launchescounter maneuver in Washington.
India’s Ambassador to the United States briefed American lawmakers on thesituation in Occupied Jammu and Kashmir and the steps that have been takenby New Delhi to restore normalcy in the region after the restive state wasstripped of its quasi-autonomous status in August.
India’s envoy to the United States Harsh Vardhan Shringla brought USlegislators up to speed on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir and the stepsNew Delhi has taken to restore order there. The restive Muslim-majoritystate was stripped of its decades-old special status in August and dividedinto two federally-administered districts amid a military lock-down.
This enraged Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, who asserted that Indiahad violated United Nations mandates guaranteeing the region’s partialself-rule.
Earlier this week, US Democratic Senator Maggie Hassanlink,after meeting with Pakistani leaders and a visit to the Pakistan Kashmir,had called upon both Islamabad and New Delhi to take urgent steps tode-escalate tensions in the Kashmir region.
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Shringla and other Indian diplomats in New York and its consulates in otherparts of the United States have been reaching out to dozens of Congressmenand their aides after India’s parliament scuttled Article 370 and 35A ofthe nation’s constitution in August (which guarantees Jammu and Kashmir’sstatus) to explain New Delhi’s standpoint.
The Trump administration has also been mounting pressure on India to liftrestrictions on Kashmir imposed shortly after New Delhi scrapped thestate’s special status in early August. US President Trump also madeseveral advances to mediate between India and Pakistan; however, the offerwas emphatically rejected by New Delhi.
