Donald Trump backs off on Kashmir, Imran Khan issues nuclear threat

Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan. (Photo: Twitter/Reuters)

HIGHLIGHTS

• PM Modi said India will not bother any other nation with its bilateral issue
• Even US President Donald Trump agreed India and Pakistan will resolve Kashmir dispute bilaterally
• In Pakistan, Imran Khan said he will escalate Kashmir issue to global level

India's diplomatic manoeuvring with the US led to President Donald Trump admitting that Kashmir is a "bilateral" issue between India and Pakistan.

Even ahead of the bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Donald Trump, the two leaders discussed the issue of Kashmir over the leadership dinner in the scenic beach city of Biarritz in France on Sunday ahead of the G7 summit-level meeting.

Meanwhile, Pakistani PM Imran Khan addressed his country on the Kashmir situation and said that he will raise the issue at every international forum, including at the UN General Assembly.

Here is what transpired in the international world on Kashmir:

• At G7 Summit, US President Donald Trump told the media, "We spoke last night about Kashmir, Prime Minister [Modi] really feels he has it under control. They speak with Pakistan and I'm sure that they will be able to do something that will be very good."
• Sitting beside Trump, PM Modi reiterated India's stance on Kashmir and in a subtle but stern way said that India didn't "want to trouble any third country".
• Without directly referring to the Kashmir issue, PM Modi said, "There are many issues with Pakistan are bilateral, We don't bother other countries about these issues. We can find solutions through discussions."
• "India and Pakistan were together before 1947 and I'm confident that we can discuss our problems and solve them together," PM Modi added during the media interaction.
• An hour or so after PM Modi and Trump met, Pakistan PM Imran Khan issued a nuclear threat to India.
• Calling India's decision on Kashmir a "historic blunder", Imran Khan said, "if there is a war, then the world should remember that both India and Pakistan are nuclear powers. And in case of war, no one will win, but the world will be responsible as the effects of war will be felt by everyone."

The address by Pakistan's PM will not go down well in the international community.

In all its international conversations, India has reiterated its position with no opposition from any quarter.

The issue of Kashmir did not come up during talks with UK PM Boris Johnsons said Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale.

On the nuclear threat, Vivek Katju, former secretary, Ministry of External Affairs, said, "It is standard Paksitani tactic. What the Pakistanis have failed to do is translate this engagement into mediation. There is a fundamental distinction between engagement and mediation and the latter is what Pakistan has always failed to achieve."

While Pakistan claimed it succeeded in internationalising the issue of Kashmir, Christine Fair, Strategic Affairs Expert said, "There is never going to be mediation in Kashmir whether Trump says it or not. That is the reality..."

And while the current US administration is transactional in nature and Washington needs Pakistan in the US, it also needs India on the economic and strategic sphere.

Bharat Karnad, a research professor of the Centre for Policy Research said, "Trump is impulsive. Whatever he has said today, he might overturn tomorrow. He is a transactional kind of person and he could go to any length to realise his goals."

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Author : Kelvin Cady

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