Dawn.com, Washington :
The US offer to help de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan led to a chain of reactions on Tuesday, as Pakistan welcomed the suggestion, India rejected it and the US State Department rephrased the offer to facilitate talks to accommodate both.
“Any positive role that the US plays to bring peace and stability in South Asia can serve the region well,” said Pakistan’s Washington envoy Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, hours after Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, made the offer.
“It’s absolutely right that this administration is concerned about the relationship between India and Pakistan and very much wants to see how we de-escalate any sort of conflict going forward,” she said while addressing a news conference in New York on Monday after the US assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of April.
Ambassador Haley, who is of Indian ancestry, also hinted that the Trump administration would participate in the talks aimed at resolving differences between South Asia’s two neighbours.
“I would expect that the [Trump] administration is going to be in talks and try and find its place to be a part of that because it’s concerned about the situation,” she said.
Ambassador Chaudhry told Dawn in Washington that Pakistan was interested in such efforts because it “wants good neighbourly relations with India”.
A State Department spokesperson, when contacted by Dawn, explained the US position on facilitating talks between the two countries.
US ambassador to UN hints that Trump administration will participate in talks aimed at resolving differences between the two countries
“We believe India and Pakistan stand to benefit from practical cooperation. We encourage India and Pakistan to engage in direct dialogue aimed at reducing tensions,” the spokesperson said.
The US official also explained why Washington wanted to promote good neighbourly relations between India and Pakistan. “The normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India is vital to both countries and the region. Steps that initiate closer regional economic ties can also create jobs, lower inflation and increase energy supply,” the official said.
The last sentence of the statement, however, stresses the stated US policy, which is close to India’s stance on this issue that all differences between India and Pakistan should be resolved bilaterally and the United States could only encourage them to talk.
“We have and continue to encourage India and Pakistan to work together to resolve any differences,” the US official said.
India has consistently ruled out third party mediation, including by the UN or the US.
Pakistan, however, welcomes international mediation and regularly raises the Kashmir issue at different UN fora. Islamabad also encourages the US and the UN to help resolve its disputes with India.
On Tuesday, Gopal Baglay, a spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, snubbed Ambassador Haley for hinting that Washington was ready to mediate.
“The government’s position for bilateral redressal of all India-Pakistan issues in an environment free of terror and violence hasn’t changed,” he said, although in the same statement he also asked the international community to persuade Pakistan to stop alleged cross-border terrorist attacks from its soil.
The US offer to help de-escalate tensions between India and Pakistan led to a chain of reactions on Tuesday, as Pakistan welcomed the suggestion, India rejected it and the US State Department rephrased the offer to facilitate talks to accommodate both.
“Any positive role that the US plays to bring peace and stability in South Asia can serve the region well,” said Pakistan’s Washington envoy Aizaz Ahmad Chaudhry, hours after Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, made the offer.
“It’s absolutely right that this administration is concerned about the relationship between India and Pakistan and very much wants to see how we de-escalate any sort of conflict going forward,” she said while addressing a news conference in New York on Monday after the US assumed the presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of April.
Ambassador Haley, who is of Indian ancestry, also hinted that the Trump administration would participate in the talks aimed at resolving differences between South Asia’s two neighbours.
“I would expect that the [Trump] administration is going to be in talks and try and find its place to be a part of that because it’s concerned about the situation,” she said.
Ambassador Chaudhry told Dawn in Washington that Pakistan was interested in such efforts because it “wants good neighbourly relations with India”.
A State Department spokesperson, when contacted by Dawn, explained the US position on facilitating talks between the two countries.
US ambassador to UN hints that Trump administration will participate in talks aimed at resolving differences between the two countries
“We believe India and Pakistan stand to benefit from practical cooperation. We encourage India and Pakistan to engage in direct dialogue aimed at reducing tensions,” the spokesperson said.
The US official also explained why Washington wanted to promote good neighbourly relations between India and Pakistan. “The normalisation of relations between Pakistan and India is vital to both countries and the region. Steps that initiate closer regional economic ties can also create jobs, lower inflation and increase energy supply,” the official said.
The last sentence of the statement, however, stresses the stated US policy, which is close to India’s stance on this issue that all differences between India and Pakistan should be resolved bilaterally and the United States could only encourage them to talk.
“We have and continue to encourage India and Pakistan to work together to resolve any differences,” the US official said.
India has consistently ruled out third party mediation, including by the UN or the US.
Pakistan, however, welcomes international mediation and regularly raises the Kashmir issue at different UN fora. Islamabad also encourages the US and the UN to help resolve its disputes with India.
On Tuesday, Gopal Baglay, a spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, snubbed Ambassador Haley for hinting that Washington was ready to mediate.
“The government’s position for bilateral redressal of all India-Pakistan issues in an environment free of terror and violence hasn’t changed,” he said, although in the same statement he also asked the international community to persuade Pakistan to stop alleged cross-border terrorist attacks from its soil.
