All outstanding issues with Pakistan are bilateral: Dr Jaishankar in Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: The US President Donald Trump’s statement that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked him to ‘mediate’ on Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan figured prominently in both Houses of Parliament on Tuesday.
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar made identical statements in both the Houses and said it has been India’s firm and consistent policy that “all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally”.

“Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross-border terrorism,” he said adding the Shimla Agreement and the Lahore Declaration provide the only basis to resolve all issues between India and Pakistan bilaterally.
“No such request has been made to the US President,” Dr Jaishankar said.

In the Lok Sabha as the House assembled to begin day’s proceedings, Congress floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury raised the issue and said India is “not a weak country” and “Hindustan kisi key saamney sar jhooka nahi sakta hae (The country cannot bow its head before US or any other country)”.

There was also slogan shouting seeking Prime Minister’s statement.

During the Zero Hour, Congress MP Manish Tewari demanded Prime Minister’s statement and insisted for a categorical clarification.

Supporting him, Trinamool member Saugata Roy said President Trump’s statement is in “contravention” of the established foreign policy of the country.

T R Baalu of DMK said the country never wanted anyone to intervene on foreign policy matters and especially on Kashmir and insisted that Mr Modi should make a statement on the matter himself.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla said there are certain issues on which no member or party should try to draw any political mileage.

The Rajya Sabha could not transact business in the first hour after External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar made the statement.

Much to the embarrassment of the US policy makers, the US President’s remarks on Monday evening in Washington in presence of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has put Mr Trump’s administration on back foot.

Acting Assistant Secretary Alice Wells with the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, tweeted to say: “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”.

Representative Brad Sherman, Congressman representing California’s San Fernando Valley, tweeted saying : “I just apologized to Indian Ambassador Harsh Shringla for Trump’s amateurish and embarrassing mistake”.

After “amateurish mistake” on Kashmir by Trump, US on damage control exercise

Washington: Within hours the US President Donald Trump made “amateurish and embarrassing mistake” by his remarks on ‘mediation’ on Kashmir conflict between India and Pakistan, the US administration on Tuesday said “Kashmir is a bilateral issue for both parties to discuss”.

Acting Assistant Secretary Alice Wells with the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, tweeted to say: “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”.

Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, spoke with India’s envoy to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla and “reiterated” his support for the longstanding US position on the Kashmir dispute, saying he supported dialogue between India and Pakistan, “but reaffirmed that the dialogue’s pace and scope can only be determined by India and Pakistan”.

He also reaffirmed that in order for dialogue to be meaningful, “Pakistan must first take concrete and irreversible steps to dismantle the terrorist infrastructure on Pakistan’s soil”, a statement said.

Representative Brad Sherman, Congressman representing California’s San Fernando Valley, tweeted about five hours back: “I just apologized to Indian Ambassador Harsh Shringla for Trump’s amateurish and embarrassing mistake”.
In another missive, he wrote: “Everyone who knows anything about foreign policy in South Asia knows that India consistently opposes third-party mediation regarding Kashmir. Everyone knows PM Narendra Modi would never suggest such a thing. Trump’s statement is amateurish and delusional. And embarrassing”.

President Trump on Monday dropped a virtual bombshell triggering a major row when he said Prime Minister Modi had asked him during Osaka meet in Japan in June to ‘mediate’ between India and Pakistan on Kashmir.

The Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi quickly denied Mr Trump’s claim and even as a senior opposition leader Shashi Tharoor of Congress party has said that the US President perhaps did not have “the slightest idea of what he is talking about”.

MEA spokesman Raveesh Kumar wrote on the micro blogging site: “It has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally. Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross border terrorism”.

Mr Trump made his controversial remarks during talks with the visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in White House.

However, an official statement from the White House did not have any reference to Mr Trump’s remarks on Kashmir.
“The President acknowledges the initial steps Pakistan has taken to improve regional security and counter terrorism. Pakistan has made efforts to facilitate the Afghanistan peace talks, and we are going to ask them to do more. The path to a strong and enduring partnership between Pakistan and the United States lies in working together to find a peaceful resolution of the conflict in Afghanistan,” the statement, however, said.