ISLAMABAD: The United States (US) relations with Pakistan and India “stand on their own” despite the fact that Washington has long called for regional stability in South Asia, the State Department said on Monday, more than a week after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered “sincere” talks to India on all issues. 

PM Sharif this month told Al Arabiya News Channel he had recently requested the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to facilitate Islamabad’s talks with India over Kashmir and all other outstanding issues, adding that Pakistan had “learnt its lesson” and wanted to “live in peace with India.” 

The Indian foreign ministry responded to Sharif’s offer and said it was ready to normalize relations with Pakistan, given a “conducive atmosphere free of terror, hostility, or violence.” 

On Monday, State Department spokesman Ned Price said while the US wanted to see stability in the region, any dialogue between India and Pakistan was a matter between the two nuclear-armed arch-rivals. 

“We have – you’re right, we’ve long called for regional stability in South Asia. That’s certainly what we want to see. We want to see it advanced. When it comes to our partnership – our partnerships with India and Pakistan, these are relationships that stand on their own,” Price said at a weekly press briefing. 

“We do not see these relationships as zero-sum. They stand on their own. We have long called for regional stability in South Asia, but the pace, the scope, the character of any dialogue between India and Pakistan is a matter for those two countries, India and Pakistan.” 

The Muslim-majority Himalayan region of Kashmir has been a flashpoint between Pakistan and India since their independence from the British rule in 1947. Both countries rule parts of the territory, but claim it in full and have fought two of their four wars over the disputed region. 

Relations between bitter rivals India and Pakistan hit a new low on August 5, 2019 after New Delhi revoked Kashmir’s special status, taking away the territory’s autonomy and dividing it into three federally administered territories. 

The two nations were last engaged in a dialogue during the tenure of former premier Nawaz Sharif, the elder brother of PM Sharif.