WASHINGTON: Pakistan and India need to work together to resolve bilateral issues, the United States has said, adding that it has always encouraged the two nuclear-armed neighbours to build a “more stable” relationship in the future.
“India and Pakistan’s issues are ones for them to work out between themselves,” Dean Thompson, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, told reporters on Saturday.
“We are pleased to see that the cease-fire that went into place earlier this year has remained intact, and we certainly always encourage them to continue their efforts to find ways to build a more stable relationship going forward,” he added.
In February, both the countries agreed to adhere to a 2003 cease-fire agreement along the disputed border in Kashmir.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan. Both claim it in full and rule it in part and have fought two of their three wars over control of the region. Ties between Islamabad and New Delhi nosedived in August 2019 when the Indian government revoked the special status of Kashmir by repealing the constitution’s Article 370.
Pakistan had strongly condemned the move and refused to hold talks with India until it reversed its decision. New Delhi, for its part, has maintained that the decision was to “fully integrate” its only Muslim-majority region with the rest of India and was an “internal matter” of the country.
