India snubs US offer to mediate in talks with Pak

Soon after the US signalled its willingness to mediate between India and Pakistan, New Delhi turned down the offer on Tuesday.

“The government’s position for redressing all India-Pakistan issues bilaterally in an environment free of terror and violence has not changed,” said Gopal Baglay, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, making it clear that New Delhi would not accept any mediation by a third party in resolving the disputes with its neighbour.

Baglay made the remark just a few hours after Nikki Haley, the US permanent representative to United Nations, said the new American administration will try and “find its place” in the efforts to de-escalate the tension between India and Pakistan.

She also told journalists at the UN headquarters in New York that the Trump administration is concerned over tension between India and Pakistan.

India, however, reiterated its call to the international community, to dissuade Islamabad from encouraging  the terrorism emanating from its soil, and targeting India and other countries in the region.

“We of course expect the international community and organisations to enforce international mechanisms and mandates concerning the terrorism emanating from Pakistan, which continues to be the single biggest threat to peace and stability in our region and beyond,” said Baglay.

Proactive role

He made the remark apparently to nudge Haley to play a more proactive role at the UN — to impose international sanctions on Jaish-e-Mohammed leader Masood Azhar and other terrorist leaders based in Pakistan.

New Delhi also signalled that it expected the US to mount pressure on Pakistan to take stern action against Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Saeed and others, who have already been designated by the UN as terrorists with links to international terror networks.

Haley will preside over the UN Security Council this month as the US envoy to the international organisation.

The fresh move by the US administration has surprised New Delhi, sources told DH.
A similar move from within the erstwhile Obama Administration in its early days in 2009 was thwarted by New Delhi.

New Delhi has been stonewalling all attempts by Islamabad to seek mediation by the US and other western powers to resolve India-Pakistan disputes. India has also been resisting Pakistan’s moves to raise the issue of Kashmir at the UN forums.

New Delhi maintains that the only path available to India and Pakistan was “to resolve the issues through a peaceful bilateral dialogue within the framework and principles of the 1972 Simla Agreement and the 1999 Lahore Declaration.