US urges India, Pakistan to engage in bilateral dialogue over Kashmir

Considering the rising tension between India and Pakistan over Kashmir issue, The US has urged both nations to have a bilateral dialogue to reduce tensions between them.

During her daily briefing on Wednesday, State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said that the US encourages India and Pakistan to engage in a direct dialogue that will help reduce tensions between the two neighbours.

Nauert was commenting on a question over remarks by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that New Delhi could take some steps of rapprochement vis-a-vis Islamabad.

Nauert was asked if Tillerson was linking a solution on Kashmir with the Pakistan-Afghanistan issue.

She said: “We view the whole strategy and handling Afghanistan as being a regional strategy, and that incorporates India as well as Pakistan who can help assist and make Afghanistan a stable place.”

The spokesperson said the US policy on Kashmir had not changed and urged India and Pakistan to have a dialogue.

“In terms of Kashmir, our policy has not changed. We continue to encourage the sides to sit down and talk.”

India accuses Pakistan of arming and financing separatists in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan denies the charge and says it only provides moral and diplomatic support. The state is divided between the two countries.