Is Trump trying to appease Pakistan with offer to intervene in Kashmir?

Trump's offer to intervene has been welcomed by Pakistan, rejected by India

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-DEPARTS Trump speaks to the press on his way to Cincinnati | AFP

President Donald Trump is certainly persistent. Reiterating his offer to help in Kashmir once again, Trump responded to a question posed by a reporter on India not accepting his offer for mediation saying “It’s really up to Prime Minister Modi...if they wanted somebody to intervene, to help them.'' He added, “I think they are fantastic people Khan and Modi — I mean. I would imagine they could get along very well.''

Trump making impromptu, off-the-cuff-remarks is not new. What, however, is significant is that Trump made the offer again, after India had made it clear that Kashmir is a sensitive issue. In damage control mode, the US administration had back-peddled Trump's remarks, toeing the Indian line that Kashmir was a bilateral matter between the two countries.

His remarks came hours before the Minister of External Affairs, S. Jaishankar, politely and firmly rebuffed America's keenness to sort out the Kashmir problem. “Have conveyed to American counterpart this morning in clear terms that any discussion on Kashmir, if at all warranted, will only be with Pakistan and only bilaterally.'' Earlier today, Jaishankar met US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit. This was the first time there was a high level meeting between India and US representatives after Trump's statements.

So far, the stress in the Indo-US relationship had been on trade issues. Trump and Modi on the sidelines of the G-20, had promised to move beyond. Trade officials on both sides met two weeks ago to discuss the broad contours of the way forward. India was approaching the trade negotiations in a “positive'' manner, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Raveesh Kumar, had stated.

But, with the Kashmir factor now, the relationship between the two countries just got a little pricklier. What makes the situation even trickier are America's slow but definite steps to rehabilitate its relationship with Pakistan. Trump's insistence on repeating his offer on Kashmir — well aware of India's sensitivities — could stem from knowing that Pakistan will be quite willing to accept “intervention''.

It is no secret that America has been talking to Pakistan to nudge it towards a calmer path with India. However, with the Afghanistan deal ready to be inked, and Trump keen to move out of the country, Pakistan has become an ally that the US needs. And in an attempt to keep Pakistan on its side, the Trump administration has put the Balochistan Liberation Army BLA on the designated global terrorist list. The BLA has consistently attacked the Pakistani government and its assets in Balochistan. And days after Khan's visit, the US military approved $125 million to provide technical assistance to Pakistan for its F-16 aircraft.

India has expressed “grave concern'' over the military aid. “We have taken up the matter with the U.S. Ambassador in Delhi, as well as with the U.S. government in Washington through our Ambassador. We have expressed grave concern over U.S. military assistance to Pakistan. The U.S. side has told us that the proposed sale does not indicate any change in the U.S. policy of maintaining a freeze in military assistance to Pakistan,” External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said at the weekly press conference.

With the US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan expected to visit this month, these issues are likely to be raised.