United States President Donald Trump has once again offered to arbitrate the Kashmir dispute between Pakistan and India on Thursday.

 

“I told them, India and Pakistan, they have a long-time rivalry over Kashmir, I can solve anything. I’ll be your arbitrator,” President Trump remarked while speaking to reporters before signing a bill in the White House’s East Room.

 

Underscoring his role in mediating between Islamabad and New Delhi during their military and diplomatic standoff in May, following the April 22 Pahalgam incident in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), the US President said, “Eventually they were gonna go nuclear … and I stopped it, I called each leader … and I spoke to them and talked about trade.”

 

“I said, ‘You’re not trading with us if you go to war … if you’re going to start throwing nuclear weapons around,” he added.

 

President Trump also revealed that India is negotiating a trade deal in Washington, and a Pakistani delegation would arrive, possibly next week.

 

On April 22 this year, a militant attack in Pahalgam, a tourist spot in IIOJK, killed 26 tourists. New Delhi, without providing any evidence to date, blamed Islamabad for orchestrating the assault. Pakistan strongly denied the allegation and offered to allow a neutral investigation. The two neighbouring nations engaged in an 87-hour conflict before the United States brokered a ceasefire on May 10.

 

President Trump’s statement comes a day after US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce expressed hope that the Kashmir dispute might be resolved during his tenure.

 

During the weekly press briefing on Tuesday, a journalist posed a question: “After the ceasefire between India and Pakistan, President Trump offered to mediate on the Kashmir dispute. So, what kind of follow-up are we expecting? How the state department moves forward?" referring to the possibility of inviting the leadership of both countries or supporting the UN resolution on Kashmir.

 

In response, the spokesperson said that while she could not speak about President Trump’s intentions or plans, his actions are always “aimed at resolving long-standing international disputes.” 

 

“So, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that he’d want to manage something like that," Bruce added, stating that "he is and has been the only one to bring certain people to the table to have conversations that nobody thought were possible.”.