All Issues Between India & Pak Bilateral: Alongside Trump, PM Modi Rejects Third Party Mediation

When asked about Kashmir, PM Modi said that all the issues between India and Pakistan are of bilateral nature and India doesn’t want to give pain to any third country for its bilateral issues.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (L) and US President Donald Trump shakes hands as they speak during a bilateral meeting in Biarritz, south-west France on August 26, 2019, on the third day of the annual G7 Summit. (Photo by Nicholas Kamm / AFP)

New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Monday told the media that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has the Kashmir issue under control and expressed hope that India and Pakistan could do something good to resolve the issue, as PM Modi also categorically rejected any third party interference on the subject. Trump and Prime Minister Modi were addressing a joint press conference ahead of their bilateral talks on the sidelines of G7 Summit in French town of Biarritz. This is also PM Modi’s first meeting with US President after coming back to power. In their first face to face interaction after Trump made mediation claims about Kashmir, PM Modi asserted that Kashmir is one among the many bilateral issues between India and Pakistan and denied scope of any third country mediation on the issue. “When asked about US’ take on Kashmir issue, Trump said: “We spoke last night about Kashmir and Prime Minister really feels he has it under control. They speak with Pakistan and I'm sure that they will be able to do something that will be very good,” said Trump taking a different tone on his previous offer of mediation. When asked about Kashmir, PM Modi said that all issues between India and Pakistan are bilateral and India doesn’t want to give pain to any third country for its bilateral issues. “All the issues between India and Pakistan are of bilateral nature. That is why we don't want to give pain to any other country, for these bilateral issues. We can discuss and resolve these issues bilaterally,” Modi said. “Before 1947 when we were one country and I'm confident that we can discuss our problems & solve them, too,” he said. Trump in recent past has offered mediation between India and Pakistan on Kashmir. PM Modi also said that the two countries need to address a number of issues like poverty and illiteracy, together. "Between India and Pakistan there are several bilateral issues. After Imran Khan became Prime Minister Minister, I called him up and said both India and Pakistan need to fight issues like poverty, illiteracy and diseases ..together we should fight the ills the two countries are facing and work for welfare." The US President later said: "I have very good relationship with both the gentlemen (Modi and Khan) and I'm here. I think they can do it (resolve the issue) themselves." "We are talking about trade, we're talking about military and many different things. We had some great discussions, we were together last night for dinner & I learned a lot about India," the US President said. Their meeting came against the backdrop of the Indian government revoking the special status to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the state into two Union Territories on August 5. Tensions between India and Pakistan spiked after India abrogated provisions of Article 370 of the Constitution, evoking strong reactions from Pakistan. India has categorically told the international community that the scrapping of Article 370 was an internal matter and also advised Pakistan to accept the reality. Watch report: