Pakistan lodges formal protest over US ambassador's Kashmir remarks
Pakistan's Foreign Office summoned the US charge d'affaires in Islamabad on Wednesday and lodged a "strong demarche" over what it called "factually incorrect remarks" by US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor regarding the status of Jammu and Kashmir during his visit to the disputed region.
In a statement, the Foreign Office said Pakistan "strongly condemned and categorically rejected" the characterization of Jammu and Kashmir as a "part of India." It underscored that Jammu and Kashmir is an internationally recognized disputed territory, "awaiting final disposition in accordance with the relevant UNSC resolutions and the aspirations of the Kashmiri people."
The Foreign Office further highlighted that the "irresponsible statement" by the US ambassador "negated the long-standing and well-documented position of the United States on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, and also ran contrary to the US commitment to the supremacy of international law and the UN Charter."
Pakistan also appreciated US President Donald Trump's offer to mediate between Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir dispute, which he made in the aftermath of Marka-i-Haq. However, the US side was urged to ensure that its public statements remained consistent with the disputed status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Criticism from Pakistan-administered Kashmir
In Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Chaudhry Latif Akbar and the Jammu and Kashmir Council for Human Rights (JKCHR) on Thursday criticized Gor's remarks, saying they were at variance with the territory's disputed status and Washington's historical position on the issue.
Akbar termed the ambassador's remarks during his visit to Srinagar "deeply regrettable" and said they disregarded the political and historical aspirations of the Kashmiri people. He said administrative control exercised by one country over part of a disputed territory did not determine or alter its final legal and political status. The Kashmir dispute, he added, had remained on the UN Security Council's agenda for decades, with several resolutions recognizing the right of its people to determine their future through a free and impartial process.
Akbar said the United States had itself recognized Kashmir as a dispute on various occasions and stressed dialogue and a peaceful settlement. "The disputed status of Jammu & Kashmir cannot be changed by any diplomatic statement. The future of Kashmir cannot be decided by India or Pakistan alone; it must ultimately be determined by the Kashmiri people through the exercise of their fundamental right to self-determination," he said. He urged Washington and the international community to follow the principles of international law and relevant UN resolutions instead of adopting the narrative of any one party.
The JKCHR urged the US ambassador, the US Embassy in New Delhi, and the State Department to revisit Washington's diplomatic and legal record on Kashmir before characterizing its final status. It said the United States had played a significant role in the UN process for determining the future of held Kashmir, including supporting the appointment of US Admiral Chester W. Nimitz as the UN plebiscite administrator. The council also referred to a 1951 US State Department policy paper, "Kashmir Dispute: Future Action," which considered seeking an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the legality of the Maharaja's accession to India. The JKCHR maintained that the failure to hold the proposed UN-supervised plebiscite did not by itself convert the unresolved dispute into a final settlement.
Jammu Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party spokesman Advocate Arshad Iqbal also criticized the remarks, saying endorsing one party's position raised questions about Washington's commitment to impartiality.
Context: US envoy's visit and travel advisory
Gor made the remarks during his first visit to Kashmir, adding that Washington would reconsider its travel advisory for the region. The US currently places most of Jammu and Kashmir, excluding eastern Ladakh and Leh, under a Level 4 "Do not travel" advisory, citing terrorism and civil unrest. Both India and Pakistan claim Kashmir in full but rule it in part, creating a decades-long flashpoint between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Related developments
On Thursday, Indian authorities removed safety barricades outside the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, including queue barriers near the visa section. The move came a day after Pakistan objected to Gor's remarks.
Separately, Minority Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju dismissed claims of a 60-km Chinese incursion into Arunachal Pradesh, calling them "incorrect." He said the India-China border in the state remains undemarcated in several areas and that border development had been neglected under previous governments but was now a "top priority" under the Modi government.
Trump's mediation offer
US President Donald Trump has offered to mediate the dispute between the nuclear-armed rivals as far back as his first term. In 2019, Trump told reporters he was willing to intervene, but a decision would be up to the leaders of both countries. "But if they wanted somebody to intervene, to help them [...] and I spoke with Pakistan about that and I spoke frankly in India about it [...] that battle has been going on for a long time. If I can, if they wanted me to, I would certainly intervene," Trump said. He was informed that India rejected the offer, to which he replied, "It is really up to Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi."
In 2025, following Marka-i-Haq, the US State Department reiterated Trump's offer and said each step that he takes "is made to solve generational differences between countries." Trump had offered to work on the Kashmir issue after brokering a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, remarking: "I will work with both of you to see if, after a 'thousand years', a solution can be arrived at concerning Kashmir." State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said "he has been the only one to bring certain people to the table to have conversations that nobody thought was possible" and remained hopeful the Kashmir issue can be resolved.