ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office (FO) on Wednesday lodged a “strong demarche” over “factually incorrect remarks” by the US ambassador to India regarding the status of India-held Jammu and Kashmir, during his visit to the disputed region.
The demarche was issued to US Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad, Natalie Baker.
“Pakistan strongly condemned and categorically rejected the characterisation of Jammu and Kashmir as a ‘part of India’,” said the FO statement.
“It was underscored that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognised disputed territory, awaiting final disposition in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people,” the statement added.
Demarche issued after Sergio Gor calls disputed region ‘important part of India’
The demarche came after US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor arrived in Srinagar on Wednesday, telling reporters, “This is an important part of India.”
The US envoy also met with held Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, where he said his country would consider re-evaluating of travel advisories for the disputed region, The Statesman reported.
‘Irresponsible statement’
In its reaction, the Foreign Office highlighted that the “irresponsible statement” by the US ambassador “negated the longstanding and well-documented position of the United States on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and also ran contrary to the US commitment to the supremacy of international law and the UN Charter,” it said.
Pakistan appreciated US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate between Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir dispute in the aftermath of Marka-i-Haq. However, the US side was urged to ensure that its public statements remained consistent with the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir, the FO said.
Trump had offered to mediate on the Kashmir dispute between the nuclear-armed rivals as far back as his first term. In 2019, Trump told reporters he was willing to intervene, but a decision would be up to the leaders of both countries.
“But if they wanted somebody to intervene, to help them […] and I spoke with Pakistan about that and I spoke frankly in India about it […] that battle has been going on for a long time. If I can, if they wanted me to, I would certainly intervene,” Trump said.
He was informed that India had rejected the offer, to which he replied, “It is really up to Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi.”
In 2025, following Marka-i-Haq, the US State Department reiterated Trump’s offer and said each step that he takes “is made to solve generational differences between countries”.
Trump had also offered to work on the Kashmir issue after he brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan after the two nations’ most intense military confrontation in decades.
In a message lauding the countries’ leaders for achieving peace, he remarked, “I will work with both of you to see if, after a ‘thousand years’, a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir.”
Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2026
