ISLAMABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Sardar Masood Khan on Monday said that it was “not likely” for US President-elect Joe Biden and his administration to mediate in the Kashmir dispute.
“At the moment not likely [for the US] to mediate, but we would continue to engage the United States for playing [a] constructive role to end repression in Kashmir,” President Khan told Arab News.
He added that the issue was brought up for discussion three times at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), recently.
“Since the US is an important player, our expectations from the US is that it should not block any other meeting there. [Instead], it should demonstrate leadership and help the security council to address the issue of Kashmir,” Khan said.
Citing his experience of working with President Donald Trump’s administration which was “not very reassuring,” Khan said that Trump had said, “he would mediate on Kashmir, but nothing happened.”
“The moment he uttered those words, they were contradicted by India’s External Affairs Ministry...”
“He [Trump] gave the impression that [Indian Prime Minister Narendra] Modi had prompted him to do so, but Mr.Modi and his representatives said that he had not made any such offer or suggestion. So there is past experience also,” Khan said.
In a statement on Saturday, Khan said that Washington could play a pivotal role in resolving the issue between India and Pakistan as it was “an influential member” of the UNSC.
“[The] Trump administration, with the help of Pakistan, had made good headway on the issue of Afghanistan and President Trump attempted to act as a mediator to resolve the Kashmir issue between India and Pakistan as well,” the statement said.
“But, later, he [Trump] backtracked and adhered to maintaining an artificial balance between the two countries, and then the mediation offer came to naught,” it added.
Khan said that at least 700,000 Pakistanis live in the US who have “a key role to play in influencing the decision making directly or indirectly.”
Rejecting bilateral talks with India, Khan said that resolving the Kashmir conflict depended on multilateral diplomacy.
“The solution to the issue was given to Kashmiris by the UN Security Council seven decades ago to determine their will...regarding their future through a plebiscite,” he said.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan have twice gone to war over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.
Delhi and Islamabad both claim Kashmir in full, but control only parts of it — territories recognized internationally as “Indian-administered Kashmir” and “Pakistan-administered Kashmir.”
