New Delhi sees "no role for any third party" in resolving the Indian-Pakistani conflict, viewing it as a bilateral issue, the Indian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday following US President Donald Trump's new mediation offer
NEW DELHI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 23rd January, 2020) New Delhi sees "no role for any third party" in resolving the Indian-Pakistani conflict, viewing it as a bilateral issue, the Indian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday following US President Donald Trump's new mediation offer.
At talks with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan in Davos on Tuesday, Trump said that the US maintained contact with Islamabad on Kashmir and "certainly will be helping" the two countries to resolve their disputes. Khan responded that Pakistan would welcome US mediation in the dialogue with its neighboring nuclear power.
"We have seen President Trump's remarks. Our position on the Kashmir issue has been clear and consistent. Let me once again reiterate that there is no role for any third party in this matter. If at all there are any bilateral issues between India and Pakistan to be discussed, it should be done bilaterally under the provisions of Simla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration," the ministry spokesman, Raveesh Kumar, said.
He added that the "onus is on Pakistan to create a conducive atmosphere free from terror and violence."
Over decades, Indian-Pakistani relations have been strained due to conflicting sovereignty claims to Kashmir. Tensions escalated in August when the Indian government annulled Jammu and Kashmir state's special status and placed it under New Delhi's direct control.
India has been consistently opposing any external interference in the conflict.
