NEW DELHI – India’s foreign minister was forced to issue a strenuous denialto an infuriated opposition in parliament on Tuesday, after US PresidentDonald Trump said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had invited him to mediatein the bloody conflict with Pakistan over Kashmir.
While Pakistan has often sought third-party mediation in the decades-olddispute which has cost tens of thousands of lives, the idea is anathema toIndia, which has always insisted the issue can only be resolved bilaterally.
Trump set off a political storm in India by claiming during a meeting onMonday with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Washington that Modi hadasked him two weeks ago to mediate in the Kashmir dispute.
“I’d like to categorically assure the house that no such request was madeby the prime minister to the US president,” Foreign Minister S. Jaishankartold the Indian parliament, barely able to make his voice heard over theopposition tumult.
Jaishankar insisted the conflict could only be settled bilaterally and thatPakistan had to end “cross-border terrorism” before any talks.
Trump’s comments touched on one of the most sensitive topics for New Delhi.
India has disputed Kashmir with its neighbour since their independence in1947. Both control parts of the former Himalayan kingdom, but claim it inits entirety.
They have fought two wars over the region and tens of thousands, mainlycivilians, have died since an insurgency erupted three decades ago inIndian-administered Kashmir.
– ‘Poles apart’ –
Indian opposition leaders demanded that Modi make a personal statement toparliament to confirm that there was no change in New Delhi’s longstandingpolicy of only direct talks with Islamabad.
Read Top Stories
Khan — on an official visit to the United States — stirred thecontroversy further by saying Kashmir could only be resolved with outsidehelp.
“Bilaterally, there will never be (an end to the Kashmir conflict),” Khantold Fox News, adding that Pakistan and India were “poles apart”.
“I really feel that India should come… (to) the table. The US could playa big part, President Trump certainly can play a big part.”
Some US politicians quickly distanced themselves from Trump’s comments.
Brad Sherman, a Democratic Congressman and member of the House foreignaffairs committee, said he apologised to the Indian ambassador inWashington for Trump’s statement.
“Everyone knows PM Modi would never suggest such a thing. Trump’s statementis amateurish and delusional. And embarrassing,” he tweeted.
The State Department also sought to calm the storm.
“While Kashmir is a bilateral issue for both parties to discuss, the Trumpadministration welcomes #Pakistan and #India sitting down and the UnitedStates stands ready to assist,” tweeted Alice Wells, the Acting AssistantSecretary of the department’s Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs.-APP/AFP
