India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) quickly and firmly shut down chatter from U.S. President Donald Trump late Monday night, about mediating in Kashmir, while talking to reporters with visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had asked him to mediate Kashmir ‘two weeks back’.
The MEA replied in short order: No, he didn’t.
The MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a late Monday night statement on Twitter, “We have seen @POTUS’s remarks to the press that he is ready to mediate, if requested by India & Pakistan, on Kashmir issue. No such request has been made by PM @narendramodi to US President. It has been India’s consistent position that all outstanding issues with Pakistan are discussed only bilaterally. Any engagement with Pakistan would require an end to cross border terrorism. The Shimla Agreement & the Lahore Declaration provide the basis to resolve all issues between India & Pakistan bilaterally.”
By early Tuesday morning, IST, the U.S. State Department’s Acting Assistant Secretary Alice Wells set the record back straight in accordance with the MEA’s position, tweeting, “While Kashmir is a bilateral issue for both parties, the Trump administration welcomes Pakistan and India sitting down and the united States stands ready to assist.
That was that. But it is worth examining how it played out.
In an early reference in the session, Trump said,”I will say that we have a very good relationship with India. I know that your relationship is strained a little bit. Maybe a lot. But we will be talking about India; a very big part of our conversation today. And I think maybe if we can help intercede and do whatever we have to do. But I think it’s something that can be brought back together.”
A fawning Imran Khan, displaying a deference that only someone from the Indian subcontinent can offer at will, was evidently in the room to score a few points with his generals, who have also accompanied him to Washington D.C.
“I will be asking President Trump – he’s – the most powerful country in the world is the United States. It can play the most important role in bringing peace in the subcontinent. You know there are over a billion and a quarter people in the subcontinent. They’re held hostage to the issue of Kashmir. And I feel that only the most powerful state, headed by President Trump can bring the two countries together. From my point, I can tell you, we have tried our best. We made all overtures to India to start dialogue, resolve our differences through dialogue. But unfortunately we haven’t made headways as yet. But I’m hoping that President Trump would push this process,” recited Khan.
And that’s when Trump came in with an apparent reference to the G20 Summit at Osaka, Japan last month. “So I was with — I was with Prime Minister Modi two weeks ago, and we talked about this subject. And he actually said, “Would you like to be a mediator or arbitrator?” I said, “Where?” He said, “Kashmir.” Because this has been going on for many, many years. I was surprised at how long; it’s been going on a long —”
“Seventy years.”
“And I think they’d like to see it resolved. And I think you’d like to see it resolved. And if I can help, I would love to be a mediator. It shouldn’t be — I mean, it’s impossible to believe two incredible countries that are very, very smart, with very smart leadership, can’t solve a problem like that. But if you want me to mediate or arbitrate, I would be willing to do that.”
“President, I can tell you that, right now, you would have the prayers of over a billion people if you can mediate and resolve this issue,” said Khan.
Encouraged, Trump went on and said, “It should be resolved. So it — but he (Modi) asked me the same, so I think there’s something. So maybe we’ll speak to him or I’ll speak to him, and we’ll see if we can do something because I’ve heard so much about Kashmir. Such a beautiful name. It’s supposed to be such a beautiful part of the world. But right now there’s just bombs all over the place. They say everywhere you go, you have bombs and it’s a terrible situation. Been going on for many years. If I can do anything to help that, let me know.”
The video of the event testifies it was only when Trump mentioned the word ‘mediator’ the second time, that Im the Dim realised he’d won the Tambola as far as his accompanying army chief General General Qamar Javed Bajwa and Director General of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Lieutenant-General Faiz Hameed would be concerned, and raised an indiscreet, extended thumb up.
Never mind the barbs about money thrown by Trump at Pakistan through the session. After pointing out that he’d ended USD 1.3 billion aid to Pakistan, he said “They gave a 150 billion dollars plus 1.8 billion in green, green beautiful cash (to Iran) – that’s probably many planeloads of cash. I think Pakistan would like to have some of that cash,” turning to look at Khan.
In a reference to hurricane relief funds, he said, “I’m the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico. But Congress has given them $92 billion. Pakistan would like some of that, right? Ninety-two, not 1.3 — because Pakistan was getting 1.3.”
This is not the first time Trump has offered to play a role between the India and Pakistan.
In December, 2016 in a phone call with then prime minister of Pakistan Nawaz Sharif, President-Elect Trump was reported by Sharif’s office to have said, “I am ready and willing to play any role that you want me to play to address and find solutions to the outstanding problems.”
At the time, the Los Angeles Times quoted former Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Lalit Mansingh as saying, “These remarks are in the nature of exchanges of congratulatory messages, and such effusive remarks are customary,” adding, “And Mr. Trump being Mr. Trump, we didn’t read too much into what he said.”
This time, Trump has used stronger, more specific language, employing the word ‘mediator’ in reference to ‘Kashmir’.
Even more interestingly, Trump also used the term ‘arbitrator’. It is difficult to believe he would conflate the meaning of ‘arbitrator’ with ‘mediator’ or confuse the terms, given his background in business.
The two concepts are very different. Arbitration is the assumption of an entirely different level of legal authority over a dispute compared to mediation, with the arbitrator delivering a ruling that has to be accepted as binding in advance by the parties to the arbitration. Mediation is hardly as binding in process or result, which can only emerge if the parties to a dispute voluntarily agree and accept a proposed resolution.
Trump would know this.
