Washington: Voicing "great concern" about the situation in Kashmir, the US on Saturday said it wants India and Pakistan to resolve the issue bilaterally while ruling out any role for itself in settling the problem.
"We obviously have great concern about the situation in Kashmir. We talk both to our Pakistani friends and our Indian friends on this issue on a regular basis. We would like to see the situation in Kashmir resolved," US State Department spokesman P J Crowley said.
"There's obviously too much tension and violence in Kashmir, which is why we continue to encourage both countries, you know, to resolve it through dialogue," he told reporters within hours after Pakistan Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi asked US President Barack Obama to take up the issue
with India during his next month visit there.
"President Obama has always understood the importance of a Kashmir solution. His coming visit to the region, is the time to begin to redeem the pledge that he made earlier," Qureshi had said in his opening remarks at the plenary session of the third round of the US-Pak Strategic Dialogue.
Qureshi is leading the high-profile Pakistani delegation which includes Army chief General Ashfaq Kayani.
"Pakistan and the United States have a shared interest, in a peaceful and stable South Asia. Unfortunately, that prospect is threatened again, by the recent events in Kashmir," Qureshi said with US Secretary of State, Hillary
Clinton sitting by his side.
A few hours later, the Obama Administration was quick to dismiss any role for itself on the Kashmir issue -- as being demanded by Pakistan.
"Kashmir is an issue that we believe needs to be resolved between Pakistan and India. It is an issue that does come up in time to time in our bilateral discussions with Pakistan. But there is no working group in Kashmir," Crowley said.
When asked about the manner in which the issue was raised during the Strategic Dialogue including the plenary session, Crowley said this was nothing new for Pakistan, which has been doing so for quite some time.
"Because the Strategic Dialogue is focused on expanding our bilateral relationship, when we get together, the United States or Pakistan can bring forward any issue that it wishes. The Pakistanis have raised the issue of Kashmir with us before. This is not new," he said.
"Our understanding of the Pakistani view of this issue is well known. But at the same time, the United States' policy is clear. We believe that this is ultimately an issue that has to be resolved between India and Pakistan," Crowley said.
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