New Delhi: In a rare and first public admission, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar has acknowledged that India has consistently refused any third-party mediation on bilateral disputes — a direct contradiction to former US President Donald Trump’s claim that he had been invited to mediate on Kashmir.
Speaking in an interaction with Al-Jazeera, Dar recalled how Islamabad had raised Trump’s assertion with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. “When we asked, the American diplomat made it clear that New Delhi’s consistent position was that all matters with Pakistan are ‘strictly bilateral,’” Dar revealed.
Clarifying Pakistan’s stance, Dar said, “We don’t mind third-party involvement, but India has categorically been stating it’s a bilateral matter. We don’t mind bilateral, but the dialogues have to be comprehensive, on terrorism, trade, economy, Jammu and Kashmir, all subjects that we have discussed earlier.”
The minister further disclosed that Washington had proposed a ceasefire in May this year, suggesting talks between India and Pakistan at a neutral venue. However, during his meeting with Rubio in Washington on July 25, Dar was told that India had rejected the plan.
He added that New Delhi remains firm on its stand. “India says it is a bilateral issue. We are not begging for anything. We are a peace-loving country, and we believe dialogue is the way forward; but it takes two to tango,” Dar stressed, reiterating Pakistan’s openness to engagement if India is willing.
