Democrat Brad Sherman tweeted, that he apologised to Indian Ambassador to the US, Harsh Shringla, for the “embarrassing” and “amateurish” comments made by US President Donald Trump during his meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. Sherman added that he believed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi would “never suggest such a thing”.
Trump, who hosted visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan at the White House on Monday 22 July, said at the joint press conference "I was with Prime Minister Modi two weeks ago, and we talked about this subject, and he actually said 'Would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator', I said "where," he said "Kashmir".
He further added "I think they would like to see it resolved and you [Imran Khan] would like to see it resolved. If I can help, I would love to be a mediator".
India was quick to dismiss President Trump's statement and categorically denied having made any such request to Prime Minister Modi during his meeting with the US leader in Osaka, Japan during the G-20 Summit.
President Trump's comments caused an uproar in India, with politicians and social media users rubbishing it, and rejecting any third-party mediation on the Kashmir issue.
In addition to this, Sherman's tweet went viral with 4.7k retweets and over 8.8k likes, Indian netizens thanked the Democratic Congressman for supporting their cause on the Kashmir Issue.
Indian lawmaker and former UN diplomat Shashi Tharoor said Trump doesn’t have the “slightest idea of what he’s talking about.”
Indian External Affairs Minister Dr Subramanian Jaishankar also clarified before Parliament that no such talks took place between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump.
The dispute in the Kashmir region dates back to 1947, when shortly after India and Pakistan gained independence from British colonial rule, Pakistani forces along with local militia attacked the Kashmir valley region ruled by Maharaja Hari Singh, who, after initially resisting the idea, acceded to India, much to Islamabad's dismay.