President Trump’s ‘offer’ and biased Pak media

President Trump’s ‘offer’ and biased Pak media

Maha Media 2 August 2019

US President Donald Trump did it again! Despite India’s rejection of his earlier bid of mediating the Kashmir issue, Mr Trump on Thursday reiterated his offer to play the role of ‘mediator’ in resolving the Kashmir dispute.  Last month, during Pak PM Imran Khan’s visit to America, Mr Trump had made headline in the world (especially in Pak and Indian media) by making a comment that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to help mediate the Kashmir dispute with Pakistan. When his comments raised a storm of criticism in India, a Trump staffer remarked that the American president “doesn’t make things up”.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday made it clear to his American counterpart Mike Pompeo that any discussion on Kashmir will only be with Pakistan and only bilaterally. Jaishankar is in the Thailand capital to attend a number of conferences, including the ASEAN-India Ministerial Meeting, the 9th East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers' Meeting, the 26th ASEAN Regional Forum and the 10th Mekong Ganga Cooperation Ministerial meeting.
This was the first official meeting between the two top Indo-US officials after President Trump's controversial comments on mediating between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue.
India has been denying that Modi had ever asked Trump to mediate and reiterated known Indian position that all issues with Pakistan can only be resolved bilaterally and after Pakistan stops supporting terrorism and cross-border firing.
India has been maintaining that Pakistan is responsible for terrorism in Kashmir and has submitted a number of proofs in the past. On other hand, Pakistan and its biased media leave no stone unturned to blame India for terrorism in south Asia.
The Dawn, a leading Pakistani newspaper, writes in its editorial, that Pakistan should take up Mr Trump’s offer as, “the Kashmir issue has been a source of acrimony between Pakistan and India for over seven decades, yet Indian obduracy and refusal to recognise it as the core issue and adopt out-of-the-box solutions has left this wound festering.
The newspaper further writes, “while New Delhi keeps harping on about militancy in South Asia, it turns a blind eye to the appalling human rights situation in the held valley, which in many ways provides impetus to armed groups.” Pak media must know that its PM Imran Khan had recently made shocking revelation that there are still 30,000 to 40,000 terrorists on Pakistan soil who had fought in Afghanistan and Kashmir.
The newspaper further writes that, “the US is the world’s sole superpower, and despite appearing tough and pretending to pursue an independent foreign policy course, India cannot afford to annoy America.” Pakistan and its biased media have no business interfering India’s internal matter. Kashmir is integral part of India and we don’t need any ‘superpower’ to resolve our issue.