External Affairs Minister Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar had refuted in Indian Parliament that "no such request has been made by the Prime Minister to the US President."
The clarification followed noisy scenes, with the opposition parties clamouring for the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to personally set the records right.
On Monday (July 22), President Trump stunned India by saying that Prime Minister Modi had sought his help in resolving the Kashmir issue with Pakistan on the sidelines of the G20 Summit held in June in the Japanese city of Osaka.
"I was with Prime Minister Modi two weeks ago, and we talked about this subject [Kashmir]. And he actually said," would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator?" I said, "where" [Modi said] "Kashmir," President Trump stated during his joint media interaction with visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Mehbooba Mufti, Chief of Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (J&K PDP), said: "Even though the USA doesn't hold a great record in solving protracted conflicts, hope both countries seize this opportunity to forge peace through dialogue." Her party wanted to shun the baggage of the past for peace.
Despite GOI refuting idea of third party mediation on J&K, the disclosure made by Trump marks a huge policy shift. Even though USA doesn’t hold a great record in resolving protracted conflicts, hope both countries seize this opportunity to forge peace through dialogue.
— Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) July 23, 2019
“Forge peace, Shun the baggage of history @MehboobaMufti” @POTUS @PMOIndia @ImranKhanPTI https://t.co/AtJsXTRfQG
— J&K PDP (@jkpdp) July 22, 2019
Mehbooba Mufti was the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, with the support of the national ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She had quit in June 2018, following the withdrawal of support by the BJP.
Another former Chief Minister and Chief of Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Dr Farooq Abdullah congratulated “PM Modi for seeking US meditation in solving the issue of J&K”. In a statement to the media, he demanded Kashmir should be made a zone of peace.
Make Kashmir a zone of peace and not zone of conflict: Dr Farooq Abdullah
— JKNC (@JKNC_) July 23, 2019
Congratulates PM Modi for seeking US mediation in solving J&K
Pays obeisance at the shrine of Hazrat Gareeb Nawaz Khwaja Moin Ud Din Chisti (RA) at Ajmer
Full statement here:https://t.co/QmyrdOMRm5 pic.twitter.com/mbIXL0GVui
Both Dr Abdullah and his son Omar Abdullah had been part of the federal ministries formed both by Indian National Congress and the BJP.
All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chief Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has also welcomed the statement. He said, every effort, pushing India and Pakistan in that direction is welcome. All Parties Hurriyat Conference is a conglomeration of secessionist groups in the Kashmir valley.
