AGENCIES / NEW YORK
PAKISTAN Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday met US President Donald Trump in New York ahead of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly opening on September 24.
Addressing a joint press conference alongside Pakistan PM Imran ahead of their meeting, Trump once again offered to mediate between Pakistan and India on the Kashmir issue.
“If I can help, I will certainly do that,” he said. “If both (Pakistan and India) want, I am ready, willing and able to do it.”
The US president noted that Kashmir’s was a complex issue that had been going on for a long time, but emphasised that arbitration could not be carried out unless both parties involved welcome it.
Trump said he has a “very good relationship” with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as with Prime Minister Imran. He said he has never failed as an arbitrator in the past and would be available to help if asked.
Avoiding to directly answer a question about UN resolutions on Kashmir, Trump reiterated that he is ready to play his role in South Asia if both India and Pakistan are willing.
Speaking about the US-Pakistan relationship, Trump said: “People in my position have treated Pakistan very badly.”
“I trust Pakistan but people before me didn’t, but they didn’t know what they were doing,” he said in response to a question.
“I trust this gentleman right here,” he added, pointing to Prime Minister Imran.
Trump said he has a lot of Pakistani friends in New York who are “smart” and “great negotiators”.
Commenting on Pakistan’s progress to counter terrorism, the US president said: “I have heard they have made great progress and I think he (Imran) wants to make great progress.”
Asked whether he is concerned about the human rights situation in occupied Kashmir, Trump said: “Sure. I’d like to see everything work out. I want everybody to be treated well.”
Without specifying, Trump said he had heard a “very aggressive” statement from Modi on Sunday, adding: “I hope they (Pakistan and India) are going to be able to come together and do something that’s really smart and good for both.
“There is always a solution and I do believe that there is a solution.”
In his remarks on Kashmir, Prime Minister Imran said Trump heads the most powerful country in the world, which has a responsibility to resolve disputes.
“We look to the US to put out flames in the world,” he added.
He said even though Trump had offered to mediate, India was refusing to talk to Pakistan. “In this situation, I feel that this is the beginning of a crisis. I honestly feel that the crisis is going to get much bigger [considering] what is happening in Kashmir,” cautioned.
Answering a question, Trump termed Iran as the “number one state of terror in the world”.
He said Iran is “doing very poorly”. He added when he took office, “Iran was a real threat to the entire Middle East and maybe beyond. And now they are having very very big difficulties to put it mildly.”
The meeting — which started after 10pm and is reported to be the first of two between the leaders during the UN session — follows a “Howdy, Modi!” rally in Houston on Sunday in which the US president and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared a stage and showered each other with praise.
Trump and Imran last met in July at the Oval office. During their first one-on-one interaction, the US president had expressed his willingness to mediate between India and Pakistan to resolve the 70-year-old Kashmir dispute — an offer he has repeated but has been rejected by India.