The United States has rejected Pakistan’s request to assist the country in brokering a dialogue with India, PTI reported on Thursday. Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi had said on Wednesday that they sought America’s help as India refused to engage in a bilateral discussion.
Qureshi was speaking in Washington a day after he met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Advisor John Bolton.
“When we asked the US to play a facilitating role...Why do we ask? Simply because we are not engaging bilaterally,” said Qureshi. “We want to focus, we want to move on the western side of the border, which we are not being able to because we have to watch our back from eastern side [towards India]. That is not a healthy situation to be in.”
Qureshi said that the US had turned down Pakistan’s request to facilitate a dialogue. “The answer from them [the US] is no. They wanted [it done] bilaterally,” he said. “But there is no bilateral movement.” The minister claimed that the US’ refusal to engage could lead to escalation of tension between the neighbours.
Qureshi also briefed Bolton about India’s “aggressive posturing”, according to a statement released by the Pakistan Foreign Ministry. “After initially agreeing to Prime Minister Imran Khan’s peace initiative, the government in India had caved into internal politics,” it alleged.
On September 20, India had agreed for a meeting between External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Qureshi on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, but called it off the next day, citing “deeply disturbing developments”, after policemen were abducted by militants in Kashmir. Pakistan had expressed disappointment at India’s decision, with Qureshi citing electoral and political compulsions in India as the reason behind its reluctance to engage.
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