United States urges India to hold talks with Pakistan on Kashmir issue
“We believe that that’s best addressed through continued dialogue between the two countries”, he said.
United States’ Department of State on Saturday has said that USA can not play the role of moderator between India and Pakistan for solutions of bilateral issues. He described the meeting between Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and President Barack Obama very successful and said the visit overall highlighted America’s “strong and growing relationship” with Pakistan.
According to the Dawn, Toner said that the U.S. wants Pakistan to expand its efforts but accepted that it was a complex dynamic.
However, while Sharif insisted that Pakistan has no interest in backing the Taleban’s campaign of violence, he also said that Pakistan “cannot bring them to the table and be asked to kill them at the same time”.
About the new initiatives decided between Pakistan and the USA, he asserted both the countries have agreed for a clean energy partnership to produce 3,000 megawatts of electricity.
Besides, an education corridor would be established, introducing modern facilities and capacity building in the education sector.
Meanwhile, Pakistan continues to claim that its nuclear weapons were to deter India, even though warheads production exceeded India as per independent reports.
Although the Indian foreign ministry accused Pakistan of state-sponsored terrorism, New Delhi’s tough rhetoric did not preclude the possible resumption of peace talks that were derailed by recent tensions.
“But our concerns have been addressed by the U.S. in the joint statement that Kashmir dispute needs to be addressed”, he claimed. “India has always desired resolution of all issues bilaterally”, the spokesperson said.
He stated as the summer season was getting over, hostility would decrease in Afghanistan during the winter, so the next three to four months would be of utmost importance for peace process.
The foreign affairs adviser said the United States had committed to providing U.S. $900 million under the Coalition Support Fund.
To a question, he said work on Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline would start once sanctions on Iran are lifted.
Sharif, it said, outlined the actions that Pakistan is taking under the National Action Plan to ensure that the Taliban – including the Haqqani Network – are unable to operate from the soil of Pakistan. “It is Pakistan which has chosen terrorism as the instrument of state policy”. “We have made it clear to all the countries”, he added.