The US has stated that it is an outspoken supporter of regional stability in South Asia while emphasising that conversation between the two major regional nations — Pakistan and India — is a matter between the two countries. In a press conference yesterday, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said, “We have long campaigned for regional peace in South Asia, but the pace, the breadth, and the character of any engagement between India and Pakistan is a concern for those two countries.”
The senior US official’s comments come a week after Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif urged his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi to hold sincere discussions to settle urgent issues, including Kashmir. Sharif also suggested that the leadership of the United Arab Emirates could play a significant role in bringing India and Pakistan to the negotiating table. A day later, the Prime Minister’s Office underlined that India’s “illegal action of August 5, 2019,” which sought to forcibly alter the demographics of the Muslim-majority state of Indian-occupied Kashmir, cannot be repeated before negotiations can begin.
