The visit was also the first by a top US dilplomat since 2019, when the erstwhile state was reorganised into two Union Territories following the reading down of Article 370.
US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor, who recently visited Jammu and Kashmir for the first time since assuming office in January this year, described the region as an ” improtant part of India “, while indicating that Washington would review its travel advisory for the region.
After meeting Omar Abdullah in Srinagar, Sergio Gor described Jammu and Kashmir as an “important part of India”.
On the surface, the comment appeared to be a routine statement delivered alongside Chief Minister Omar Abdullah during the envoy’s first visit to the Valley. However, when viewed through the lens of seven decades of US policy on Kashmir, the remark carries significance far beyond its immediate context. Pakistan’s response came the same evening , with the Foreign Ministry summoning Charge d’Affaires Natalie Baker, who currently heads the US mission in the country. In the early decades after Independence, Washington viewed the Kashmir issue as a major source of instability in South Asia. Though Washington later clarified that there had been no change in its broader policy toward India’s territorial integrity, but Raphel’s remark became one of the most cited examples of a US language on Kashmir that appeared closer to Pakistan’s stated position. President Bill Clinton administration pressed Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to withdraw forces from across the Line of Control, effectively backing the principle that the LoC must be respected. The move marked a diplomatic victory for New Delhi. During the 2000s and 2010s, US policy increasingly settled into a familiar formulation, with Washington routinely urging India and Pakistan to resolve their difference through dialogue. The US occasionally expressed willingness to assist if both countries desired such involvement. India reiterated that all matters related to Jammu and Kashmir were strictly bilateral and not open to third-party intervention.
The Kennedy administration, particularly after the 1962 India-China war, actively encouraged negotiations between Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and Pakistani President Ayub Khan.
Currently, the US has a Level 4 “do not travel” advisory for its citizens for Jammu and Kashmir, while Ladakh has been exempted. Trump nevertheless repeated willingness to act as “arbitrator” or mediator between India and Pakistan on the issue.
