By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Affirming that there is no change in America’s Kashmir policy, the US has reiterated that any differences between India and Pakistan should be resolved through dialogue.
“No, there’s no change in US policy on this,” the US State Department said when asked to comment on Pakistan Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani’s reported statement that Kashmir has again become the core issue between India and Pakistan and should be resolved on the basis of UN resolutions.
“Certainly, we believe that any differences between India and Pakistan are things that should be resolved through dialogue,” deputy spokesman Tom Casey told reporters Wednesday. “And as you know, we’ve supported dialogue and discussion among the parties in the past, and we’ll continue to do so.”
In reply to another question about rise of terrorism in the East, he said the US has “full confidence in the Indian government’s ability to provide for the security of its people.”
“However, as we’ve seen, there are groups out there or individuals out there intent on committing terrorist acts,” Casey said referring to Tuesday’s serial bomb blasts in Jaipur City that have claimed at least 63 lives and left over 125 persons injured.
As the US had said Tuesday condemning the Jaipur attacks, “there’s certainly no justification for it,” he said. “And we will continue to work with the Indian government, as we do with other partners around the world, to try and help prevent these kinds of attacks and bring those responsible to justice.”
However, at this point the US had not “heard from the Indians that they have any definitive conclusion on who was responsible for these attacks,” Casey said. “But certainly, we hope that those who are responsible can be identified and again brought to justice.”
Condemning the terrorist attacks in Jaipur, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack had Tuesday assured India, “The United States stands with the government and people of India in their ongoing fight to eliminate the scourge of terrorism, and to ensure an open, democratic, peaceful, and prosperous society.”