ISLAMABAD: A senior US State Department official said Tuesday Pakistan will participate in a bilateral meeting in Washington, but declined to say whether the United States would play any role in mediating longstanding tensions between Pakistan and India, particularly over Kashmir.
The comment came in response to a question at a news briefing about whether Washington’s push for direct communication between India and Pakistan — such as on the Indus Waters Treaty — would also apply to more contentious issues like Kashmir.
Pakistan and India had a four-day military standoff in May that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire. Washington later announced that both countries had agreed to meet at a neutral venue to discuss outstanding issues.
Pakistan welcomed the proposal, but India, which has long opposed third-party involvement, rejected it.
“We have Pakistan who is going to be here for a bilat, and I’ll be participating in that,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said during the briefing, without elaborating on the schedule or the agenda. “I’m looking forward to that as well.”
Bruce did not directly answer the question on Kashmir, instead offering a general comment about addressing difficult issues.
The briefing came weeks after a rare one-on-one lunch hosted by former President Donald Trump for Pakistan’s military chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, at the White House on June 18. No civilian Pakistani officials were present at the meeting.
Trump later credited both Munir and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “acting responsibly” and preventing a potential regional catastrophe.
India has denied any US role in the ceasefire, calling it a bilateral decision between New Delhi and Islamabad, though Trump has continued to claim credit for stopping the conflict.
On Tuesday, he reiterated separately that he “stopped the recent war” between the two countries and claimed five planes were shot down during the fighting.
While political channels between Washington and Islamabad have reactivated in recent weeks, the two sides are also engaged in trade talks after Trump imposed 29 percent “reciprocal tariffs” on Pakistan in April.
Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb, who is currently in Washington, said both countries are working to shift their relationship from one focused on trade to one anchored in long-term investment.
Speaking after meetings with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Aurangzeb said the two sides had identified priority sectors including minerals, mining, artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency regulation.
He also hinted at forthcoming “leadership-level” announcements in the coming days.
