It is for India
and Pakistan to talk Kashmir, says America
"We
continue to urge the governments of both India and Pakistan to reduce tensions
along that line and to resume dialogue to address these issues," State
Department spokesman said.
Amid reports that
Pakistani Army chief Raheel Sharif had raised the Kashmir issue with Secretary of State John
Kerry, the US said it was for India and Pakistan to work out issues between
them.
State Department
spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday that he was not aware whether
Kashmir or the November 26, 2008 Mumbai terror attacks by Pakistan based Lashkar-e-Taiba had
come up during the Wednesday meeting between Sharif and Kerry.
“No, I’m well aware of
the lives lost in the Mumbai attacks. Look, I don’t have great detail in terms
of every item discussed,” he said when asked if the Mumbai attacks in which six
American lives were lost among 164 people killed and Kashmir were discussed.
“As for Kashmir, all I
would say is we continue to be concerned about any violence along the Line of
Control,” Kirby said.
“And we continue to urge
the governments of both India and Pakistan to reduce tensions along that line
and to resume dialogue to address these issues,” he said.
“This is for the two
parties to work out.”
Kirby said Kerry met
“Sharif to follow up on some of the security-related conversations that he had
with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in October.”
“The general’s
consultations in Washington were part of our regular ongoing bilateral
discussions with a broad range of Pakistani officials, and we appreciate the
productive discussions we had regarding our bilateral defence and security
relationship.”
Kerry, he said,
“reaffirmed our commitment to the US-Pakistan partnership and its importance in
addressing issues of mutual concern and ensuring peace, stability, and
prosperity across the region.”
Declining to go into any
more detail, the spokesman said Kerry appreciated the discussion “and was
grateful for. This is an important relationship. It’s a complex relationship,
and it’s one we want to continue to improve.”
Sharif, who is here
without an official invitation from Washington, also met Vice President Joe
Biden at the White House Thursday. “The meeting, which followed the Vice
President’s October 22 breakfast in Washington with Prime Minister Nawaz
Sharif, addressed ongoing efforts to strengthen US-Pakistan relations,”
according to a White House readout.
Biden, it said,
“reaffirmed the United States’ interest in building a strong partnership with
Pakistan that addresses our shared counterterrorism, economic, and regional
security concerns.”
He thanked Gen. “Sharif
for his steadfast support to counterterrorism cooperation with the United
States and underscored the importance of expanding efforts to help further
strengthen regional security.”
“Both leaders reaffirmed
their strong commitment to peace in Afghanistan and the important role that the
United States and Pakistan can play to support a reinvigorated reconciliation
process in coordination with Afghanistan,” it said.
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