Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Aug 19
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said on Wednesday that his meeting with US Ambassador Sergio Gor could pave the way for broader American engagement with Jammu and Kashmir, while making clear that he did not expect Washington to resolve the region’s internal political disputes.
Abdullah said the talks at his Gupkar residence covered India-US relations but focused specifically on what the United States could do to contribute to J&K.
“It was a very good meeting,” Abdullah told reporters. “We had an opportunity to discuss the relations between our two countries, but with a specific focus on what the US can do with J&K.”
The chief minister said the discussion could become the starting point for a more sustained engagement with Washington, although he acknowledged that some longstanding “legacy issues” would take time to address.
“There are obviously certain legacy issues that over time we will be working to resolve. But we look forward to taking this conversation further,” he said.
Abdullah said the dialogue would have to proceed on two fronts – between Gor and officials in Washington, and between the J&K government and the Government of India.
“This is a conversation that will take place both between Ambassador Gor and Washington, and between me and the GoI in New Delhi,” he said.
He described himself as “very hopeful and optimistic” that relations between the US and J&K could widen and deepen in the coming years.
The meeting was significant because Gor’s visit represents the most prominent US diplomatic engagement with J&K in years.
Before the ambassador arrived, Abdullah had said he intended to discuss the situation in the region but would not use the meeting to air political grievances against the central government before a foreign diplomat.
“It is after a very long time that a US ambassador is visiting J&K,” Abdullah had said earlier. “Let him come; we will sit and talk.”
He said he expected the meeting to be a two-way exchange in which both sides would listen to each other’s perspectives.
Abdullah also drew a distinction between discussing J&K with a foreign representative and seeking Washington’s intervention in matters he considers India’s internal affairs.
“It has never been my habit to lodge complaints about my country to an ambassador of another country,” he said.
Abdullah said the responsibility for resolving J&K’s internal problems lay with New Delhi rather than Washington.
“The resolution to our issues will not come from Washington; the resolution to our problems lies with our central government,” Abdullah said.
The CM has repeatedly called on New Delhi to restore J&K’s statehood, one of the principal political demands of his National Conference-led administration.
But he portrayed Wednesday’s meeting as an effort to identify areas for cooperation rather than an attempt to internationalise those political demands.
