Trump says ready to mediate on Kashmir if both Pakistan, India want – World

Prime Minister Imran Khan met Monday with the president of the United States, Donald Trump, in New York City before the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly that will open on September 24.

Addressing a joint press conference with Prime Minister Imran before his meeting, Trump once again offered to mediate between Pakistan and India on the issue of Kashmir.

"If I can help, I certainly will," he said. "If both (Pakistan and India) want, I'm ready, willing and able to do it."

The president of the United States pointed out that Kashmir was a complex issue that had been going on for a long time, but emphasized that the arbitration could not take place unless both parties involved welcome it.

Trump said he has a "very good relationship" with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as with Prime Minister Imran. He said he has never failed as an arbitrator in the past and would be available to help if asked.

Avoiding answering directly to a question about the UN resolutions on Kashmir, Trump reiterated that he is ready to play his role in South Asia if both India and Pakistan are willing.

Speaking about the relationship between the United States and Pakistan, Trump said: "The people in my position have treated Pakistan very badly."

"I trust Pakistan, but people before me didn't know it, but they didn't know what they were doing," he said in response to a question.

"I trust this gentleman here," he added, pointing to Prime Minister Imran.

Trump said he has many Pakistani friends in New York who are "smart" and "great negotiators."

Commenting on Pakistan's progress in combating terrorism, the US president said: "I have heard that you have made great progress and I think he (Imran) wants to make great progress."

When asked if he was concerned about the human rights situation in occupied Kashmir, Trump said: "Sure. I would like to see everything go well. I want everyone to be treated well."

Unspecified, Trump said he had heard a "very aggressive" statement from Modi on Sunday, adding: "I hope they (Pakistan and India) can come together and do something that is really smart and good for both of us."

"There is always a solution and I think there is a solution."

In his comments on Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran said Trump is leading the most powerful country in the world, which has a responsibility to resolve disputes.

"We expect the United States to put out the flames in the world," he added.

He said that although Trump had offered to mediate, India refused to talk to Pakistan. "In this situation, I feel that this is the beginning of a crisis. Honestly, I feel that the crisis is going to be much bigger [considering] what is happening in Kashmir, "he warned.

Answering a question, Trump called Iran the "number one state of terror in the world."

He said Iran is "very bad." He added that when he took office, "Iran was a real threat to the entire Middle East and perhaps beyond. And now they are having great difficulties to put it mildly."

The meeting, which started after 10 p.m. and it is reported that it is the first of two among the leaders during the UN session, following a "Hello, Modi!" Demonstration in Houston on Sunday in which the president of the United States and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a stage and showered each other with praise.

Trump and Imran met for the last time in July at the Oval office. During his first one-to-one interaction, the president of the United States. UU. He had expressed his willingness to mediate between India and Pakistan to resolve the 70-year-old Kashmir dispute, an offer he has repeated but which India has rejected.

Tensions between India and Pakistan reached a high point on August 5, when New Delhi unilaterally annexed occupied Kashmir, revoking a constitutional guarantee that granted special status to the disputed territory. A strict blockade and a blackout in communications in the region that has disrupted the Internet and mobile phone service of ordinary people in much of occupied Kashmir were imposed. Now it has entered its 50th day.

President Trump's recent comments on relations between Kashmir and India-Pakistan have sparked speculation about an indirect dialogue between the two neighbors in South Asia during the UNGA, with Washington in the role of facilitator.

Last week, President Trump told reporters at an informational meeting in the White House that "much progress" has been made to calm tensions between India and Pakistan and his statement has strengthened these speculations.

After it was confirmed that Trump would meet with the prime ministers of India and Pakistan before and during the UNGA, diplomatic observers in Washington said the possibility that he could use the meetings to discuss the situation in Kashmir is stronger than ever.

Nobel Prize

When they told him he could get a Nobel Prize if he helped resolve the Kashmir dispute, Trump said: "He would get a Nobel Prize for many things, if they distribute it fairly, what they don't do."

Trump said he didn't know why one of the world's most prestigious compliments was awarded to his predecessor in the White House, Barack Obama, in 2009.

“They gave one to Obama immediately after his rise to the presidency and he had no idea why he succeeded. You know what? That was the only thing I agreed with him, ”Trump said.

He said that previous US presidents had treated Pakistan unfairly, but that he would not do so.

He also stressed the need to "double, triple and even quadruple" bilateral trade between the United States and Pakistan.

& # 39; Kashmir Mission & # 39;

Prime Minister Imran, who declared himself a Kashmir ambassador, spent the second day of his seven-day visit to the United Nations, informing US lawmakers, academics, human rights activists and the media about the impact of the Indian annexation of the disputed Kashmir. Valley.

Lawmakers who convened the prime minister on Sunday included the minority leader of the United States Senate, Chuck Schumer, and the president of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Lindsey Graham.

Senator Graham was also among the four US senators who wrote a letter to President Trump last week, asking him to take immediate steps to end the deepening of the humanitarian crisis in occupied Kashmir.

Prime Minister Commitments

Before his meeting with Trump, Prime Minister Imran spoke Monday at an event in the expert group, the Council on Foreign Relations. He also addressed the United Nations Summit on climate change and the Summit on universal health care.

Today's prime minister too held a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. He is also expected to meet with Chinese Vice President Wang Qishan.

China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi also called Prime Minister Imran in New York today.

On Saturday, the Prime Minister met with the founder of the Farooq Kathwari Kashmir Study Group during which he urged Kathwari to continue informing the world about the illegal occupation of India and human rights violations in occupied Kashmir so that they could See the true face of the Modi government.

Read: Prime Minister Imran meets US envoy Khalilzad, Senator Graham in New York

On Sunday, the US special envoy for the Afghan peace process, Zalmay Khalilzad, met with the prime minister. The Prime Minister also met with Amnesty International Secretary General Komi Naidoo and discussed with him the grave humanitarian and human rights situation in the occupied Jammu and Kashmir.

Prime Minister Imran will address the UN General Assembly on September 27. He has already announced that he will highlight the problem of Kashmir in his speech, exposing the ethical and legal bankruptcy of the annexation of Kashmir occupied by India.