No change in our policy on Kashmir, India and Pakistan should talk: US

The US policy has been that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and it is up to the two countries to decide on the pace and scope of the talks on the issue

Kashmir conflict: The United States on Friday said that there is no change in its policy on Kashmir and called on India and Pakistan to maintain calm and restraint.

“No”, replied State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus when asked by reporters if there has been any change in America’s policy on Kashmir. The US policy has been that Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan and it is up to the two countries to decide on the pace and scope of the talks on the issue.

“And if there was, I certainly wouldn’t be announcing it here, but no, there’s not,” Ortagus said in response to a follow up question. She said the United States supports dialogue between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.

“It’s something that we’ve called for calm and restraint by all parties. We want to main peace and stability, and we, of course, support direct dialogue between India and Pakistan on Kashmir and other issues of concern,” the US State Department spokesperson said.

India had on Monday revoked provisions of Article 370 to take away Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, and bifurcating the state into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. Ortagus said the US was working closely with the two South Asian countries....