ISLAMABAD: Kashmir, a Himalayan region claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, remains one of South Asia’s deepest and most sensitive disputes. Nearly eight decades after British rule ended in 1947, the question of the territory continues to shape relations between the two nuclear-armed neighbours and often draws outside powers into a diplomatic storm.
India and Pakistan each control part of Kashmir and have fought several wars over it. A 1949 UN Security Council resolution called for a plebiscite to decide the region’s future, but the vote has never taken place.
For decades, the United States has officially described Kashmir as disputed territory and said its future should be settled by India and Pakistan while taking into account the wishes of Kashmiri people. Washington has generally avoided recognising the sovereignty of either country over the whole region, according to Al Jazeera News.
However, even small changes in language can cause sharp reactions.
Pakistan sees international references to Kashmir’s disputed status as support for its effort to bring the issue before the world. India rejects any suggestion of foreign mediation, insisting that the matter must be handled directly between New Delhi and Islamabad.
This divide was clear in 2019, when then-US President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to mediate on Kashmir. India quickly denied the claim. Pakistan welcomed Trump’s offer, while New Delhi said the ceasefire arrangements between the two sides had been reached through direct military talks.
US policy has also faced scrutiny after remarks by American officials in India. Jauhar Saleem, Pakistan’s former foreign secretary and head of the Islamabad-based Institute of Regional Studies, said a comment by a US ambassador should not automatically be seen as a shift in Washington’s official position.
“US policy on a question as consequential as Jammu and Kashmir cannot be read from an off-the-cuff formulation,” Saleem told Al Jazeera. He said any real change would have to come through formal statements from the State Department or the White House.
Saleem said Pakistan’s diplomatic protest, known as a demarche, was meant to seek an explanation rather than punish the United States. He argued that relations between Islamabad and Washington were too wide-ranging to be damaged by one official’s remarks.
Former Pakistani general and diplomat Tariq Rashid Khan said Pakistan’s response was a clear attempt to set boundaries. Close ties with Washington, he said, do not mean Pakistan will accept language on Kashmir that contradicts its position.
For both India and Pakistan, Kashmir is more than a territorial issue. It is tied to history, national identity and security. As former Pakistani ambassador Aizaz Chaudhry noted, the dispute remains central to lasting peace and stability in South Asia.
