US rejects Sharif’s demand on Kashmir issue,says it’s between India and Pakistan

Psaki was responding to a question on the statements made by Sharif during his trip to Washington this week,during which he repeatedly urged the Obama Administration to use its growing influence over India to resolve the Kashmir issue.

Ahead of Sharif’s trip,the Obama Administration had said its position on Kashmir has not changed “even an iota” and that it considers Kashmir a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.

In his address to the US Institute of Peace,Sharif had urged the US to use its influence over India to resolve the Kashmir issue.

“With its growing influence in India,the US now has the capacity to do more,to help the two sides resolve their core disputes,including Kashmir,and in promoting a culture of cooperation,” Sharif said early this week.

“We very much support improvements in this (Pakistan-India) relationship and we will continue to use our influence with both governments to encourage them to move in that direction,” a senior State Department official was quoted as saying by the Associated Press of Pakistan during a briefing for Pakistani journalists after the conclusion of Sharif’s trip.