Kashmir unrest India’s internal issue, says Obama Administration

As Jammu and Kashmir continues to draw international attention, the Obama Administration has said it has no intention to inject itself into the latest round of arguments between India and Pakistan over Kashmir.







"Our position has been consistent for many years. We regret the loss of lives in the current unrest and view it as an internal issue of India", Under Secretary of State William Burns told The Indian Express here.







"We welcome the efforts of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who has courageously sought to improve relations with Pakistan", Burns said in an exclusive conversation. "The pace, scope and character of the dialogue is for India and Pakistan to define."







Burns, the principal US interlocutor with India in recent years, has overseen the implementation of the civil nuclear initiative and is currently negotiating the substance of US President Barack Obama's visit to India in November.



While the administration's position on Kashmir and the Indo-Pak dialogue are clear-cut, there is no denying the pressure from Pakistan and its friends in Washington who are urging Obama to express greater concern on the current situation in Kashmir and take a more proactive approach on the Indo-Pak dialogue.







The most comprehensive case for US diplomatic activism in Kashmir has come from Steve Coll, president of the New America Foundation here. Writing in the latest issue of the New York Review of Books, Coll has urged the Obama Administration to "rediscover the sense of urgency Kashmir unrest India's internal issue, says Obama Administration and international leadership" that characterised US "engagement with Kashmir in the 1950s".


News From: http://www.7StarNews.com