WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump has once again offered to help mediate the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan.
US President Trump stressed that he can solve the issue between the two nuclear-armed nations.
While speaking to media on Thursday in Washington, President Trump repeated his willingness to assist both countries in finding a peaceful solution to the decades-old conflict, echoing similar remarks made by the US State Department a day earlier.
His renewed offer follows a ceasefire agreement he helped broker after India and Pakistan came dangerously close to an armed conflict — one of their most serious military standoffs in recent years.
Speaking to reporters after signing a bill into law on Thursday, US President Donald Trump stressed he had “stopped a war” between Pakistan and India.
“Eventually they were gonna go nuclear … and I stopped it, I called each leader … and I spoke to them and talked about trade,” Trump said.
“I said, ‘You’re not trading with us if you go to war … if you’re going to start throwing nuclear weapons around. They were both unbelievable. They understood it exactly, they stopped. I stopped that war with phone calls and trade,” Trump added.
Praising the leaders of both nations for showing restraint, Trump said that he would continue to support efforts towards peace. “I will work with both of you to see if, after a “thousand” years, a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir,” he said.
“We’re going to get them together. I told them, India and Pakistan … they have a longtime rivalry over Kashmir. I told them ‘I can solve anything,” Trump said while responding to another question.
“I will be your arbitrator. I will be your arbitrator. I can solve anything.”
Kashmir remains a highly sensitive and disputed region that has been a flashpoint between the two nuclear-armed neighbours for over 70 years.
ALSO READ: Trump offers to mediate Kashmir dispute
In the wake of the recent conflict between Pakistan and India, Pakistan launched a diplomatic campaign in the United States aimed at presenting its version of events and countering India’s growing influence in Washington. The Pakistani delegation has already visited London and is expected to travel to Brussels as part of this broader outreach effort.
The high-level delegation includes former foreign ministers Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, Hina Rabbani Khar, and Khurram Dastgir; Senators Sherry Rehman, Musadik Malik, Faisal Subzwari, and Bushra Anjum Butt; along with senior diplomats Jalil Abbas Jilani and Tehmina Janjua.
