US India envoy’s Kashmir remarks rile Pakistan

Pakistan summoned Washington’s top envoy in Islamabad and “strongly condemned” remarks by the US ambassador to New Delhi calling disputed Kashmir “an important part of India”.

“(A) strong demarche was lodged over the factually incorrect remarks of US Ambassador to India, regarding the status of Jammu and Kashmir,” Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement late Wednesday.

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“It was underscored that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised disputed territory.”

The divided Muslim-majority territory has been at the centre of rivalry between India and Pakistan since their independence from British rule in 1947.

The US ambassador in New Delhi, Sergio Gor, had told reporters in Srinagar during a trip to Indian-administered Kashmir that “this is an important part of India”.

“We just had a very good meeting,” he added, referring to Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah. “We have some follow-ups, so we hope to take back to Washington, back to Delhi... we look forward to building this relationship forward.”