New Delhi Rejects Trump's Offers To Mediate India-Pakistan Conflict Over Kashmir

NEW DELHI (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 23rd July, 2019) Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Raveesh Kumar said on Monday, commenting on US President Donald Trump's recent remarks on his readiness to be a mediator in the dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir, that there was no official request on the part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for US mediation and the conflict should be settled in a bilateral format.

Earlier in the day, Trump said that he would be willing to serve as a mediator between Pakistan and India in Kashmir dispute. The US president added that Modi had already asked him to be a mediator in the conflict. Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed hope that Trump would help to facilitate the bilateral dialogue.

"We have seen @POTUS's remarks to the press that he is ready to mediate, if requested by India & Pakistan, on Kashmir issue. No such request has been made by PM @narendramodi to US President. It has been India's consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally.

Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross border terrorism. The Shimla Agreement & the Lahore Declaration provide the basis to resolve all issues between India & Pakistan bilaterally," Kumar wrote on Twitter.

The Kashmir region has been fought over between India and Pakistan since the end of British rule in the region in 1947. Following several armed conflicts, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire in 2003. Since, both sides have repeatedly accused each other of violating the truce, with continued instability in the region leading to the emergence of various extremist groups.

The tensions escalated dramatically after a February 14 terrorist attack on an Indian military convoy in Kashmir in which more than 40 people were killed. The Pakistan-based terrorist group Jaish-e-Mohammad claimed responsibility for the attack.

Later in February, India carried out an airstrike in the Pakistani-controlled part of Kashmir, targeting what it said was a training camp belonging to the terrorist group.