Washington continues to treat India and Pakistan separately: Senior US official

New York- A senior State Department official has clarified that Washington continues to deal with India and Pakistan independently, stressing that the two relationships are “quite different” and dismissing fears of a possible “re-hyphenation.”

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday (local time), the official said that on the Kashmir issue, the US maintains its “long-standing position that this is a matter directly between India and Pakistan.”

While President Donald Trump is willing to help if requested, “we have no interest in it and he already has enough crises on his hands,” the official noted. “We will leave that up to India and Pakistan to resolve.”

“We continue to view India and Pakistan separately, assessing each relationship on its own merits, in line with an America First policy that advances our interests,” the official said, adding, “They are quite different relationships.”

Some in India have suggested that Trump’s repeated claims of having resolved tensions between India and Pakistan and resetting ties with Islamabad indicate a creeping “re-hyphenation” of US policy.

India, however, has consistently denied any US mediation, insisting that disputes were resolved bilaterally by New Delhi and Islamabad.

The official nevertheless reaffirmed Trump’s assertion and dismissed India’s denial of US involvement, saying: “The Indian government has a domestic audience it has to address. But the fact is that the United States was involved in that crisis.”

The remarks were made under the condition that the speaker be identified only as a senior State Department official, allowing for candid discussion of sensitive diplomatic issues amid what was described as “turbulence” in India-US relations.

On Pakistan’s relationship with China, the official expressed concern: “In general, their ties with China continue to be an issue for us. But we are trying to view Pakistan through the lens of US-Pakistan relations, standing on their own, and to identify areas of cooperation. That remains our focus.”

With inputs from IANS