US President Donald Trump urges Pakistan to ease tensions with India: White House
Washington, Aug 17 (IBNS/UNI) Amid tension between the neighbouring nations over the issue of Kahsmir, US President Donald Trump has spoken with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan over the telephone and discuss the importance of easing tensions with India, White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley said late on Friday.
"The President conveyed the importance of India and Pakistan reducing tensions through bilateral dialogue regarding the situation in Jammu and Kashmir," Gidley said in a statement.
The two leaders also discussed steps for building the bilateral relationship between the United States and Pakistan, Gidley said.
The discussion between the two leaders over phone comes at a time when the matter of Kashmir was being discussed after more than 40 years, in United Nations Security Council's closed door consultative meeting.
Only one of the five permanent members, China, openly favoured Pakistan in the UNSC meet. The remaining four — Britain, France, Russia and the United States — want India and Pakistan to address the Kashmir dispute in a bilateral set-up.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said that Khan took the US President into confidence regarding the UN Security Council meeting today in which Kashmir issue was discussed.
"The conversation between the two leaders was held in a cordial environment. They also agreed to remain in contact over the Kashmir issue", Radio Pakistan quoted Qureshi as saying.
On August 5, India had revoked the controversial Article 370 which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Terming the Article 370 a ''major hurdle'' in the development of the state, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said politics of vote bank has looted the youth of Jammu and Kashmir for over 70 years and this article is equally harmful for people of all religions.
He also said that only because of Article 370, democracy never took root in J&K, corruption flourished, widespread poverty took root and no socio-economic infrastructure could come up.
"It is the root cause of terrorism." he added.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has been continuously accusing India for resorting to unconstitutional measures in dealing with Kashmir.
It has already snapped its diplomatic ties and bilateral trade with India.
India and UNSC meet:
India on Friday said there was an effort to masquerade national statements by two countries [read Pakistan and China] as the will of international community in respect to the removal of Article 370 in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir, but the national position of India remains that the move in Kashmir is an internal issue with no external ramifications.
Soon after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) closed door meeting on Kashmir, Syed Akbaruddin, India's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations, told a news conference at the UN: "Our national position was and remains that the matters related to Article 370 are entirely an internal matter of India. These have no external ramifications."
He said the recent decisions by the Indian government are to promote good governance.
"We are gratified that the Security Council in its closed consultations appreciated these efforts, acknowledged them and indicated that this is the direction in which they would like the international committee to move," he said.
He said national statements by countries are being masqueraded as the will of international community.
India's statement followed China's expression of "grave concern" over the situation in Kashmir at the closed door United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting.
He said India's position vis-a-vis talks with Pakistan on Kashmir is clear: Stop terror to start talks.
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