NEW DELHI: With United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’s offer of mediation, along with four bipartisan U.S. senators having recently written to U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo voicing concerns about the human rights situation in Kashmir, New Delhi would certainly welcome a statement of reassurance from President Donald Trump, especially when he is in India. But Chintamani Mahapatra, professor of American Studies in JNU tells Ashwin Ahmad the U.S. president is likely to remain silent on the issue. While using the India visit to portray himself as a global leader and wow and woo the Indian-American voter for the upcoming November elections, Trump will also be aware that Pakistan remains a key strategic ally especially while U.S. troops are in Afghanistan. With this key balancing act in mind, the U.S. president will ensure that unlike the past – where he offered to mediate twice on Kashmir in the space of six months – will not be repeated. India, however, should not expect any statement of reassurance from him either.
