PM Narendra Modi rules out talks with Pakistan, US mediation, on PoK he said...

Addressing the nation on Monday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi outrightly rejected talks with Pakistan. He said, talks and terrorism can not got together. Though it is an old stand of the Narendra Modi government, it is significant in the current situation. Calling it the "one- thousand- year-old" issue, earlier US President Donald Trump had not only asked India and Pakistan to resolve it, but also offered to mediate in the talks. 

What did Donald Trump say?

He wrote on Truth Social, "I will work with you both to see if, after a "thousand years,' a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir. God Bless the leadership of India and Pakistan on a job well done!!!" The alarm bell has been set ringing for India. Donald Trump also offered to mediate in the Jammu and Kashmir issue in his first term of presidency. 

PM Modi: Talks only on PoK

However, PM Modi has not only rejected any talks with Pakistan, he has also made it clear that if talks are held, these would be held only on the issue of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. 

Earlier, the Narendra Modi government had said that the only point on the issue of Jammu and Kashmir to be discussed was the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. While speaking at a session at the Chatham House think tank in London in March this year, Jaishankar said that the decades-long Kashmir dispute would be solved following the “return of the stolen part of Kashmir." Referring to the PoK, he said, "I think the part we are waiting for is the return of the stolen part of Kashmir, which is under illegal Pakistani occupation; when that is done, I assure you Kashmir will be solved."

However, Islamabad has succeeded in bringing the Kashmir problem back to the world forum, much to the chagrin of India.  India has always maintained that the Jammu and Kashmir question is a bilateral issue and there is no scope for third-party mediation, while Pakistan has always tried to raise the issue at the international fora.