Srinagar: US President Donald Trump on Monday offered to mediate on the decades-long Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan, a move that would signal a shift in long-standing US policy that the issue must be solved bilaterally, Express Tribune Newspaper reported
“If I can help, I would love to be a mediator,” Trump said at the White House, where he was hosting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. “If I can do anything to help, let me know.”
President Trump said the US is willing to invest in Pakistan and sees great trade relationship between the two countries. He also said that Washington is working with Islamabad to find a way out of the war in Afghanistan.
Trump held out the possibility of restoring US aid to Pakistan, depending upon what is worked out, and offered assistance to Islamabad in trying to ease strained ties with India.
“I don’t think Pakistan respected the United States” in the past, Trump said, but “they are helping us a lot now,” Trump was quoted by AFP as saying.
“We have great potential for relations with Pakistan, I honestly think ties between our two countries have never been better,” he said. “I have lots of Pakistani friends… they’re really tough and smart people,” he added.
Prime Minister Imran told President Trump there was only one solution for Afghanistan and that a peace deal with the Taliban was closer than it had ever been. He said he hoped in the coming days to be able to urge the Taliban to continue the talks. (The Express tribune)
This post was published on July 22, 2019