US looking forward to Modi’s promises about improving lives of Kashmiris

• Alice Wells says Trump is willing to mediate if asked by both parties.
• Alice Wells says US is concerned by widespread detentions and the restrictions on the residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

UNITED NATIONS: The United States wants New Delhi to quickly ease restrictions imposed in held Kashmir, a senior official said Thursday after President Donald Trump met the leaders of India and Pakistan.

"We hope to see rapid action -- the lifting of the restrictions and the release of those who have been detained," Alice Wells, the top State Department official for South Asia, told reporters.

She also said that Trump "is willing to mediate if asked by both parties" -- although she noted that India has long rejected any outside role.

"The United States is concerned by widespread detentions, including those of politicians and business leaders, and the restrictions on the residents of Jammu and Kashmir," she said.

"We look forward to the Indian government's resumption of political engagement with local leaders and the scheduling of the promised elections at the earliest opportunity," she said. She added that as President Trump emphasized, Modi made a commitment that the recent changes to the status of Kashmir will improve the lives of the Kashmiri people and 'we look to him to uphold this promise'.

Wells said the United States has raised concerns on held Kashmir "at the highest levels," without saying if Trump brought up Kashmir with Modi.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi in August revoked the autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir, which had been India's only Muslim-majority state, fulfilling a long-held goal of his Hindu nationalist movement.