Talk Kashmir, US tells India and Pakistan

Washington, Aug 24 (IANS) The US has urged India and Pakistan to have a bilateral dialogue over Kashmir to reduce tensions between them.

State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert said in her daily briefing on Wednesday that the US encourages India and Pakistan to engage in a direct dialogue that will help reduce tensions between the two neighbours.

Nauert was commenting on a question over remarks by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson that New Delhi could take some steps of rapprochement vis-a-vis Islamabad.

Nauert was asked if Tillerson was linking a solution on Kashmir with the Pakistan-Afghanistan issue.

She said: "We view the whole strategy and handling Afghanistan as being a regional strategy, and that incorporates India as well as Pakistan who can help assist and make Afghanistan a stable place."

The spokesperson said the US policy on Kashmir had not changed and urged India and Pakistan to have a dialogue.

"In terms of Kashmir, our policy has not changed. We continue to encourage the sides to sit down and talk."

India accuses Pakistan of arming and financing separatists in Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan denies the charge and says it only provides moral and diplomatic support. The state is divided between the two countries.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)