A day after Donald Trump said that he would act as a mediator between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue, an influential Democratic Congressman apologised to India's US envoy for the US President's "embarrassing" remarks.
Taking to Twitter, Congressman Brad Sherman said, "Everyone who knows anything about foreign policy in South Asia knows that #India consistently opposes third-party mediation re Kashmir. Everyone knows PM Modi would never suggest such a thing (sic)," tweeted Sherman. "Trump's statement is amateurish and delusional. And embarrassing," he said.
"I just apologized to Indian Ambassador Harsh Shringla for Trump's amateurish and embarrassing mistake," tweeted Congressman Brad Sherman.
The Congressman, who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Asia, the Pacific and Non-Proliferation, has been closely following the developments in South Asia for the past few decades.
The stunning claim was made by Donald Trump during his meeting with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan in White House in Washington DC on Monday (July 22). The US President told Imran Khan that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had broached the subject with him during their meeting in Osaka, Japan, last month. The US President further told the Pakistani PM that he would love to help if Pakistan wants him to.
"If I can help in the Kashmir issue, I will help," said Donald Trump during the meeting. "If I could mediate in the Kashmir issue, I would love to help," he added. Trump also stated that if invited, he "would love to go to Pakistan".
INDIA REJECTS CLAIM
The US State Department supported Trump's statement and said that they were ready to assist in the matter related to the Kashmir dispute. A spokesperson for the US State Department said: "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."
However, India has rejected Donald Trump's controversial claim stating that Kashmir dispute in an internal issue and will be resolved bilaterally with Pakistan. India has reportedly taken up the matter with the White House and lodged a protest.
Reacting to Donald Trump's remark, the MEA spokesperson took to social media and said: "We have seen @POTUS's remarks to the press that he is ready to mediate, if requested by India & Pakistan, on Kashmir issue. No such request has been made by PM @narendramodi to US President. 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. The Shimla Agreement & the Lahore Declaration provide the basis to resolve all issues between India & Pakistan bilaterally."
