In the wake of renewed calls by Pakistan seeking US intervention on Kashmir, visiting Indian parliamentarian and CPI leader D. Raja has said Washington needs to clear the “ambiguity” in its position on the issue.
“There can be some ambiguity... It is for the US to make its position clear... otherwise why should Pakistan plead with the U.S.,” Mr. Raja told PTI here.
Mr. Raja said the U.S., which is aware of India’s stated position on the issue, should make it clear to Pakistan that it has nothing to do with Kashmir.
“I don’t think the U.S. has anything to do with India and Pakistan relations and the US should make that clear to Pakistan... no we’re not interested... it is not a village panchayat for there to be a middle man,” he said.
Warning against “sinister designs” of the U.S. in the region, Mr. Raja stressed that Kashmir and other outstanding issues would have to be resolved bilaterally between India and Pakistan.
“This is the stated position of all political parties... there is consensus on this... dialogue is the only way,” he said.
“If India and Pakistan cannot resolve their problems how can U.S. resolve the problems... we understand our own problems.”
He said he was confident that the people of India and Pakistan were capable of sorting out their problems and resolving their differences.
On whether the U.S. had made its position clear to Pakistan, State Department spokesperson P. J. Crowley had said yesterday that Washington believes in encouraging dialogue.
“We have not been asked by both countries to play a particular role but this is the reason why... we continue to encourage further dialogue between India and Pakistan“.
“We recognise the importance of Kashmir to both countries. We absolutely want to see tensions eased and ultimately a resolution to the situation in Kashmir and that needs to come through additional dialogue between Pakistan and India,” he told journalists in New York and Washington DC in a joint-press conference.
Speaking at a public event organised by the prestigious Brookings Institute and Asia Society, Qureshi had once again asked the U.S. to work for the resolution of the Kashmir issue.
“It is in the interest of lasting peace, stability and development of the region that the U.S. works for the resolution of disputes in South Asia. This has to begin with justice for the Kashmiri people,” he said.
