‘Jammu Kashmir is an important part of India’:Says US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor in JK

On his Jammu and Kashmir visit, US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor says, “JK is an integral part of India”….It’s a pleasure to be here… and I’m here visiting for the first time. It’s an incredibly beautiful place, and I’m thrilled to be here. I’m thrilled to see this place. It was a very good meeting… I’m very fortunate to be here…” CM Omar Abdullah says, “As Ambassador Gor has said, it was a very good meeting. We had an opportunity to discuss the issues that we have, with a specific focus on what the US can do with Jammu and Kashmir. There are obviously certain legacy issues that, over time, we will be working to resolve. But we look forward to taking this conversation further. This is a conversation that will take place both with Ambassador Gor and Washington and with me and the Government of India in Delhi. We are hopeful that the engagement between the United States of America and Jammu and Kashmir will both widen and deepen in the years ahead.” ‘Let him come; we will sit and talk’ Speaking to reporters, Abdullah noted that Gor’s visit was significant as it had been a long time since a US ambassador had visited Jammu and Kashmir. “It is after a very long time that a US ambassador is visiting Jammu and Kashmir. For me personally, it has been a long time since I met any American ambassador. Let him come; we will sit and talk,” Abdullah said. “I will prefer to listen more to him, even though he is also coming to listen,” he said, adding that the nature of the discussion would become clear once the meeting took place. Abdullah rules out raising internal grievances While confirming that he would speak about Jammu and Kashmir and its current situation, Abdullah stressed that he would not use the meeting to complain about domestic matters or ask the US to resolve them. He said the challenges facing the Union Territory had no direct bearing on the US and that any solution would have to come from New Delhi. “The resolution to our issues will not come from Washington; the resolution to our problems lies with our central government,” Abdullah said. He added that he had never considered it appropriate to complain about his country to an ambassador representing another nation. “It has never been my habit to lodge complaints about my country to an ambassador of another country,” he said, describing such an approach as inappropriate. Statehood remains key demand Abdullah’s comments come against the backdrop of his continued demand for the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir’s statehood. The chief minister has repeatedly called on the Centre to fulfil its commitment to restore statehood to the Union Territory. The issue remains one of the key political concerns for the Jammu and Kashmir government, particularly following the region’s reorganisation and the change in its constitutional and administrative status. However, Abdullah’s remarks suggest that he does not intend to seek outside intervention on the matter. Instead, he maintains that decisions concerning Jammu and Kashmir’s political future must be addressed by the Indian government. US envoy’s visit draws attention Gor’s visit marks a notable diplomatic engagement in Jammu and Kashmir, with Abdullah acknowledging that it had been a considerable period since an American ambassador had travelled to the region. The chief minister said he was prepared to discuss the situation in Jammu and Kashmir with the US envoy but would stop short of turning the meeting into an appeal for Washington’s involvement. “I will certainly discuss Jammu and Kashmir and our current situation, but I will neither complain nor seek solutions to our grievances from them,” Abdullah said.