New Delhi: India has made it clear that it does not want anyone to mediate when it comes to Kashmir. This comes as US President Donald Trump offered to mediate between India and Pakistan on the long-standing Kashmir dispute. Pakistan Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif welcomed the mediation offer and thanked Trump for expressing his willingness to do so. But India is clear. It wants Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) back.
“We have a very clear position on Kashmir, there is only one matter left – the return of Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK). There is nothing else to talk about. If they talk about handing over terrorists, we can talk. We don’t have any intention of any other topic. We don’t want anyone to mediate. We don’t need anyone to mediate,” government sources said.
Pakistan on Sunday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue, which Islamabad described as a longstanding dispute with serious implications for peace and security in South Asia and beyond. Appreciating what it described as the “constructive role played by the United States” in the ceasefire talks, the Pakistan government in a statement, “We also appreciate President Trump’s expressed willingness to support efforts aimed at the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute.
Pakistan further said that it is a longstanding issue and has serious implications for peace and security in South Asia and beyond. It further stressed that the government “reaffirms that any just and lasting settlement of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute must be in accordance with the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions and must ensure the realisation of the fundamental rights of the Kashmiri people, including their inalienable right to self-determination”.
