This is apropos a letter to the Editor titled “Washington’s Kashmir contradiction” carried by the newspaper on Monday and yesterday.
If the US has decided to abandon its longstanding position on the issue, it should say so clearly rather than allow such a fundamental policy shift to emerge through an ambassador’s remarks during a visit to Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir. President Trump cannot simultaneously offer to help resolve the dispute while his envoy uses language that prejudges its outcome.
India may declare Kashmir its “integral part” as many times as it pleases, but that assertion does not erase the dispute, its history or the aspirations of the Kashmiri people. Nor does it erase the wars, ceasefires, UN deliberations and repeated crises that have kept Kashmir at the centre of Pakistan-India tensions and perpetuated instability in the region.
The US should therefore be left in no doubt: the Kashmir issue cannot be wished away through diplomatic terminology. If Washington genuinely wants to contribute to lasting peace in South Asia, it must recognise the dispute for what it is and encourage its peaceful resolution—not rely on one side’s claim and present it as a settled fact.
Sajid Hasan, Karachi
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026