Ahead of Army Chief Munir's visit, Pakistan says it welcomes any US help in resolving Kashmir issue

Pakistan on Friday expressed openness to mediation from the United States or any other country to help resolve the Kashmir dispute.

Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan, speaking at his weekly press briefing, said Pakistan would welcome assistance “from any country which can help stabilise the situation and move towards resolution” of the issue.

The statement came ahead of Pakistan Army chief Asim Munir’s reported visit to the US this week, his second in two months following recent military skirmishes with India. The trip comes at a time when India–US ties are strained over trade tariffs.

”About the US’ interest in settlement of the Kashmir issue, we welcome help not only from the US but any country which can help stabilise the situation and move towards resolution of the Kashmir dispute, which is at the heart of issues of peace and security in South Asia. We will welcome that,” he said.

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India maintains that it does not want any third-party involvement in its discussions with Pakistan. The Simla Agreement signed between the two countries in 1972 rejects any third-party mediation on the Kashmir issue.

To a question about any contact between Pakistan and India to resolve issues after their four-day conflict in May, Khan said there was no such contact but added that “we welcome the US’ interest to work with the two sides for the resolution of this issue”.

“Our overall diplomatic position is well known. We want to take the route of diplomacy, but it is the Indian side which has to make up its mind. And so far, there are no contacts between our two sides, except for the routine diplomatic contact,” he said.

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India has made it clear that it will only have a dialogue with Pakistan on the return of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and the issue of terrorism.

Talking about the terrorism in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, he said Pakistan highlighted the issue of terrorism emanating from Afghanistan on several occasions.

He also rejected speculation about any secret agreement with the US to extract minerals. ”There is no question of any secret agreements or Pakistan compromising on its national interest. At the same time, there is a mechanism through which we invite Foreign Investment,” he said.

He also rejected as “baseless” the allegations of the involvement of Pakistani nationals in the Ukraine conflict and said Islamabad has not been formally approached by the Ukrainian authorities on the issue.

With inputs from agencies