Donald Trump says 'progress' in reducing tensions between India and Pakistan, to meet Narendra Modi and Imran Khan in Sep

Washington: US President Donald Trump on Monday said he will be meeting the prime ministers of India and Pakistan soon, even as he maintained that tension between the two Asian countries had reduced. While Trump will address Indian-Americans, along with Modi, at the “Howdy Modi!” event in Houston on 22 September, the American president did not say when or where will he be meeting the Pakistani Prime Minister. “I’ll see Prime Minister Modi and I will – we’ll – be meeting with (prime ministers of) India and Pakistan,” Trump told reporters in response to a question at the White House on Monday. [caption id=“attachment_7231211” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of US president Donald Trump. AP[/caption] According to Trump’s schedule, he could meet Imran Khan on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly Session in New York later in September. After addressing a record crowd of more than 50,000 Indian-Americans at the “Howdy Modi!” event , Trump will travel to Ohio and then is expected to fly to New York to attend the Annual General Assembly Sessions of the United Nations. Without mentioning Kashmir, Trump said a “lot of progress has been made in reducing tension” between India and Pakistan.

US President Donald Trump: I will see Prime Minister Narendra Modi and I will be meeting with India and Pakistan. I think a lot of progress is being made there. (File pic) pic.twitter.com/ThMkqjzBzC

— ANI (@ANI) September 17, 2019

Tension between India and Pakistan escalated after New Delhi revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status on 5 August. Reacting to India’s move on Kashmir, Pakistan downgraded diplomatic ties with New Delhi and expelled the Indian High Commissioner. Pakistan has been trying to raise the Kashmir issue on global platform but, India has asserted that the abrogation of Article 370 was its “internal matter”. New Delhi has also asked Islamabad to accept the reality and stop its anti-India rhetoric. The “Howdy, Modi!” event would be the first time that an American president addresses thousands of Indian-Americans at one place in the US. It comes ahead of the 2020 presidential elections in the US in which the influential Indian-American community members are expected to play a greater role. President Trump, a Republican, has already announced his candidature. India’s Ambassador to the US Harsh Vardhan Shringla has called Trump’s participation in the “Howdy, Modi!” event “historic” and “unprecedented”. “It is reflective of the strong bonds of friendship and cooperation that has developed between India and the US,” Shringla told PTI.