India on Tuesday rejected US President Donald Trump’s mediation offer for Kashmir while asking Pakistan to vacate the illegally occupied Kashmir. India also reiterated that any issue relating to Jammu and Kashmir must be addressed bilaterally with Pakistan without third-party interference. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the outstanding issue is the vacating of Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
“We have a long-standing national position that any issues pertaining to the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir have to be addressed by India and Pakistan bilaterally. That stated policy has not changed. The outstanding matter is the vacating of illegally occupied Indian territory by Pakistan,” Jaiswal said.
Answering a query, he said there were conversations between Indian and US leaders on the evolving military situation from the time Operation Sindoor commenced but trade did not come up in any of these discussions.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that his administration played a crucial role in brokering an immediate cessation of hostilities between India and Pakistan, following escalating tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.
India’s precision strikes on terrorist infrastructure in Pakistan and PoJK came in response to the Pahalgam terror attack in which 26 people were killed. The government had said that the perpetrators will face severe punishment and over 100 terrorists were killed in Operation Sindoor.
Indian Armed Forces effectively repelled Pakistan’s subsequent military aggression and pounded several airbases in Pakistan. The two countries have now reached an understanding to stop firing and military action after Pakistan DGMO reached out to his Indian counterpart.