Kashmir, in the Himalayas, is disputed between India and Pakistan and ruled in part by both. A panic has created due to conflicts in Indian-administered side for three decades and tens of thousands of people have been brutally killed and females been raped by Indian armed forces.
While Pakistan has always called for third-party involvement to resolve the long-running dispute, India has always insisted the issue can only be resolved through direct talks between New Delhi and Islamabad.
Trump’s remarks while sitting alongside the Pakistani prime minister, Imran Khan, on Monday to mediate in the matter of Kashmir, triggered a wave of rage in the Indian parliament and Opposition members walked out in protest, demanding a response from Modi.
During his first visit as Pakistan’s Prime Minister to Washington, Imran Khan told Trump: “You will have the prayers of over a billion people if you can mediate or resolve this issue.”
Khan later said during a press conference with Fox News, “Bilaterally, there will never be (an end to the Kashmir conflict). I really feel that India should come (to) the table. The US could play a big part, President Trump certainly can play a big part.”
While responding to Khan’s statement, Trump said on Monday he had a similar request from India. “It is impossible to believe that two incredible countries who are very, very smart with very smart leadership can’t solve a problem like that,” Trump said. “If you would want me to mediate or arbitrate, I would be willing to do it.”
India’s foreign minister has strongly denied Donald Trump’s claim that the US president was also invited by the Indian government to mediate in the matter of Kashmir.
“It has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally,” he said. “I would further underline that any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross-border terrorism,” he added.
India’s rage can be imagined by escalating tensions across the line of control as firing broke out after India’s violation of ceasefire on Tuesday.
A senior police official in Pakistan administered Kashmir confirmed the death of a 70-year-old woman as she was killed after getting hit by a mortar shell. Another government official said two people were injured as a result of “heavy shelling” across the line of control by the Indian army, “which was targeting the civilian population.”
