India’s top diplomat in Singapore has firmly dismissed the idea of external mediation in the Kashmir conflict, calling it a strictly bilateral matter between India and Pakistan—despite the US claiming a role in facilitating recent de-escalation efforts.
“For us, Kashmir is a bilateral issue, not an international issue,” High Commissioner of India to Singapore, Shilpak Ambule, told Bloomberg TV’s Haslinda Amin on Monday. “For us, the word mediation does not work with the Kashmir issue.”
His remarks come after India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire on Saturday following four days of intense clashes that raised fears of full-scale war between the nuclear-armed neighbors. While the United States has indicated it played a role in easing tensions, India insists the ceasefire was the outcome of direct talks between the two countries.
Ambule said the truce followed a call initiated by Pakistan’s Director General of Military Operations to his Indian counterpart. He added that India had successfully targeted and destroyed terrorist camps during the operation.
Pakistan’s military, however, claimed that India had requested the de-escalation.
Tensions soared last week after a series of drone and missile strikes on military installations. Though sporadic violations were reported shortly after the ceasefire took effect, the truce appeared to be holding steady by Sunday.