Islamabad: US President Donald Trump’s offer of mediation on Kashmir during Prime Minister Imran Khan’s first visit to Washington was ‘more than Pakistan’s expectations’, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has said.
Talking to a private news channel, Qureshi also said that Prime Minister Khan ‘made the US realise that Kashmir is a flashpoint’, which requires an early resolution, state-run Radio Pakistan reported.
Trump last week offered to be the ‘mediator’ between India and Pakistan on the Kashmir issue during his first meeting with Prime Minister Khan at the White House.
India firmly rejected Trump’s offer, saying that New Delhi’s consistent position has been that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally.
The offer of mediation by President Trump during Prime Minister Khan’s visit to Washington was ‘more than Pakistan’s expectations’, Qureshi said.
He said that India’s ‘adamant attitude on Kashmir issue can cost it heavy’ and claimed that the situation in the Valley is ‘deteriorating’.
He said the US President was informed that Pakistan is a peace loving country and desires peace in the region including with India.
PTI