- Ambassador Sheikh argues US would need to pursue a more comprehensive, sustained initiative than witnessed in past
NEW YORK/ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Rizwan Saeed Sheikh, has urged President Donald Trump to step in and help ease simmering escalation between India and Pakistan as the US leader simultaneously strives to solve conflicts in Europe and Middle East, according to state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP).
“If we have a president who is standing for peace in the world as a pronounced objective during this administration, to establish a legacy as a peacemaker, or as someone who finished wars, defied wars and played a role in de-confliction, resolving the disputes, I don’t think there is any higher or flashier flashpoint, particularly in nuclear terms, as Kashmir,” Ambassador Sheikh said in an exclusive interview with Newsweek.
“We are not talking about one or two countries in that neighbourhood who are nuclear capable. So, that is how grave it is.”
The tensions between two the South Asian neighbours intensified in the wake of an armed attack on April 22 in Pahalgam, a tourist attraction in the Indian-occupied Kashmir, in which 26 people were reportedly killed.
Following the incident, Modi-led government in New Delhi, announced a number of escalating moves, downgrading diplomatic and trade ties with Pakistan, measures reciprocated in kind by Islamabad. Clashes have since erupted along the Line of Control in Kashmir. Pakistani defence minister and information minister have warned of an imminent strike being planned by India.
With the stakes appearing to grow higher by the hour, Ambassador Sheikh argued that the Trump administration would need to pursue a more comprehensive and sustained initiative than witnessed in past US attempts to defuse crises that have erupted between the two countries.
“So, I think with this threat that we are facing, there is a latent opportunity to address the situation by not just to focus on an immediate de-escalatory measure, or a de-escalatory approach,” Sheikh said, “but to try and get this out of the way in a fashion that there is something more durable and lasting in terms of a durable solution of the Kashmir dispute rather than allowing the situation to stay precarious and pop up again and again at the next drop of a hat on this side or that side.”
Speaking to reporters the following day, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said that Trump administration officials are “monitoring the developments across the board in that region” and also “at multiple levels…are in touch with the governments of India and Pakistan.” Rubio is expected to speak with both sides this week.
On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke by telephone to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who briefed him on Pakistan’s perspective regarding recent developments in South Asia, following the Pahalgam incident.
While condemning terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, PM Shehbaz underscored Pakistan’s leading role in the war against terrorism and the country’s sacrifice of over 90,000 lives lost and over $152 billion in economic losses.
Terming India’s escalatory and provocative behaviour deeply disappointing and worrisome, Shehbaz said that India’s provocations would only serve to distract Pakistan from its ongoing efforts to defeat terrorism, particularly from militant groups, including Islamic State-Khorasan (IS-K), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), operating from the Afghan soil.
The prime minister categorically rejected Indian attempts to link Pakistan to the Pahalgam incident and pointed to his call for a transparent, credible, and neutral investigation to bring out the facts. He urged the US to impress upon India to dial down the rhetoric and act responsibly.
On Thursday, in a separate phone call with Jaishankar, “the secretary expressed his sorrow for the lives lost in the horrific terrorist attack in Pahalgam, and reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to cooperation with India against terrorism”, Bruce said. “He also encouraged India to work with Pakistan to de-escalate tensions and maintain peace and security in South Asia.”
According to the handout issued in Islamabad, Prime Minister Shehbaz received a telephone call from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and briefed him on Pakistan’s perspective regarding recent developments in South Asia, following the Pahalgam incident.
