Washington (Web Desk): US President Donald Trump has once again offered to mediate between Pakistan and India over the Kashmir dispute.
Talking to reporters at the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Trump said he would do his best to mediate or help somehow with the tensions between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue.
He said that he would discuss this possibility over the weekend with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two leaders are set to meet at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France.
“Kashmir is a very complicated place. You have Hindus and you have the Muslims and I wouldn’t say they get along so great,” Trump told reporters. “I will do the best I can to mediate,” he said.
Earlier on July 22, President Trump first offered to mediate between India and Pakistan over Kashmir at a White House news conference with Prime Minister Imran Khan.
PM Imran immediately accepted the offer, saying that over a billion people would pray for the US leader if he helped resolve the issue. India, however, declined the offer, saying that it wanted no external assistance for talks with Pakistan on Kashmir or any other issue.
“Well, they’ve been having this — these talks for hundreds of years, even under different names. But this is — but its Kashmir. And Kashmir is a very complicated place. You have the Hindus and you have the Muslims, and I wouldn’t say they get along so great. And that’s what you have right now,” President Trump said when asked if the issue between the two nuclear-armed neighbours was solvable.
Mr Trump added, “You have millions of people that want to be ruled by others and maybe on both sides. And you have two countries that haven’t gotten along well for a long time. And, frankly, it’s a very explosive situation.”
In his post shared on Twitter on Tuesday morning, President Trump said that he had good telephonic conversations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and Prime Minister Imran Khan of Pakistan.
“Spoke to my two good friends, Prime Minister Modi of India, and Prime Minister Khan of Pakistan, regarding Trade, Strategic Partnerships and, most importantly, for India and Pakistan to work towards reducing tensions in Kashmir. A tough situation, but good conversations!” the US president tweeted.
On Monday, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, during a press briefing in Islamabad said that US President Trump made a call to Prime Minister Imran Khan today after his talk with Modi and discussed prevailing situation in occupied Kashmir.
Qureshi said that PM Imran Khan, during the telephonic conversation informed the US President that the unilateral decision of Modi’s government has endangered the region.
"PM Imran expressed serious concern over the humanitarian crisis triggered in occupied Kashmir and hoped the US would play its role in resolving the crisis,” the foreign minister said.
"We want a UN observer mission to be dispatched forthwith to Indian-occupied Kashmir" and for the curfew there to be "lifted immediately," FM Qureshi added.
Tensions have been high since India revoked autonomous rule in the part of Kashmir it controls on August 5.
Indian authorities imposed a communications blackout and heavy restrictions on movement from the eve of the intervention.
