In a rare public admission, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has said that India never agreed to any third-party mediation on issues between the two countries, effectively undercutting former US President Donald Trump’s claim that he had been asked to mediate on Kashmir.
Dar said that when Islamabad raised Trump’s mediation claim with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the top American diplomat made it clear that New Delhi had always maintained that all issues with Pakistan are “strictly bilateral.”
“We don’t mind third-party involvement, but India has categorically been stating it’s a bilateral matter. We don’t mind bilateral, but the dialogues have to be comprehensive – on terrorism, trade, economy, Jammu and Kashmir, all subjects that we have discussed earlier,” Dar said.
He added that Washington had earlier conveyed a ceasefire offer in May, saying talks between India and Pakistan would be held at a neutral venue. But during a follow-up meeting with Rubio in Washington on July 25, Dar was told that India had not agreed to the proposal.
“India says it is a bilateral issue. We are not begging for anything. We are a peace-loving country, and we believe dialogue is the way forward; but it takes two to tango,” Dar said, adding that Pakistan is still willing to engage if India responds.