NEW DELHI: India on Thursday rejected US President Donald Trump’s offer to help resolve the Kashmir dispute, saying the matter had to be addressed between New Delhi and Islamabad.

“There is no role for any third party in the Kashmir issue,” Indian ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

He was quoted by The Hindu as making the comments in response to a question on Trump’s remarks ahead of his meeting with Prime Minister Imran Khan in Davos.

“Our position has been clear and consistent on Kashmir [...] It is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan,” he said.

While the issue had to be resolved bilaterally with Pakistan, the onus is on Islamabad to create an environment for engagement, the Indian spokesperson said.

He was responding to Trump’s fresh offer to “help” in resolving the issue.

Addressing the media with Prime Minister Imran Khan in Davos on Tuesday, Trump said that the US was watching the developments related to occupied Kashmir “very closely” and repeated his offer to “help” resolve the matter.

Published in Dawn, January 24th, 2020