Washington, July 24
After the diplomatic
brouhaha over President Donald Trump's off-the-cuff remarks on Kashmir,
which invited an immediate denial from an upset India, the US was
careful not to mention the 'K' word during a subsequent meeting between
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and visiting Pakistani Prime Minister
Imran Khan.
Pompeo, who called on the Pakistani Premier on
Tuesday, stressed that the US looked forward to "continued progress from
Pakistan on shared security priorities, including defeating terrorist
organizations, which he hoped would form the basis of a reinvigorated
partnership".
He emphasised on the "continued importance of the
US and Pakistan working together to advance shared priorities, including
Pakistan's significant role in supporting the Afghan peace process and
counter-terrorism".
Pompeo welcomed the occasion to discuss
opportunities for enhanced cooperation, including expanded trade and
investment opportunities, said a readout by spokesperson Morgan Ortagus.
The
Trump administration is banking heavily on Pakistan to resolve the
Afghan issue and had invited Islamabad for talks with the Taliban.
During
his media interaction along with Imran Khan, Trump had said: "I think
Pakistan is going to help us out to extricate ourselves. We're like
policemen. We're not fighting the war. If we wanted to fight a war in
Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week. I just don't
want to kill 10 million people. Does that make sense to you? I don't
want to kill 10 million people."
His remarks invited a strong
reaction from the Afghan government which said on Tuesday that the
"Afghan nation has not and will never allow any foreign power to
determine its fate".
It said in a statement that while it
appreciates the US efforts towards peace in Afghanistan, it "underscores
that foreign heads of state cannot determine Kabul's fate in the
absence of the Afghan leadership".
After Trump's remarks on
Monday that he would "love" to mediate on the Kashmir issue and that
this had been suggested to him by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,
the US administration moved swiftly to counter the diplomatic
embarrassment and assuage an upset New Delhi.
India strongly
rejected Trump's claim, made in front of Imran Khan. "No such request
was made," India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said in
Parliament.
Acting Assistant Secretary Alice Wells clarified that
the US administration welcomes India and Pakistan sitting down to
resolve the "bilateral" issue and the "US stands ready to assist".
In
stating that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan,
Wells, Acting Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of South and Central
Asian Affairs, echoed India's stand on the subject.
"While
Kashmir is a bilateral issue for both parties to discuss, the Trump
administration welcomes #Pakistan and #India sitting down and the United
States stands ready to assist," he tweeted.
