Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
US Ambassador Sergio Gor is set to visit Kashmir on Wednesday, in what will be the first trip by a US envoy to the Union Territory since the abrogation of Article 370 and after the Pahalgam attack, which sparked Operation Sindoor. However, J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who will meet Gor, did not attach much importance to the visit, underlining that “Washington won’t solve Kashmir’s problems”.
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Gor, who will also meet the Lieutenant Governor, will travel to Ladakh on Thursday. The high-profile visit by a US envoy assumes significance as it comes seven years after the Centre revoked J&K’s special status and bifurcated it into two Union Territories.
There is also speculation that Gor, known to be close to US President Donald Trump, could interact with representatives of trade bodies and members of civil society during his stay in Srinagar. However, there is no official confirmation yet.
WHY US ENVOY’S KASHMIR VISIT IS IMPORTANT?
The visit comes against the backdrop of a deepening India-US strategic partnership and follows recent interactions between Gor and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on counter-terrorism.
The visit of the US envoy is historic on several counts.
Significantly, this will be the first meeting between a serving US ambassador and a sitting J&K chief minister in more than 15 years. The last such meeting was in 2011, when then US envoy Timothy Roemer met Abdullah.
Moreover, the last such standalone visit to Kashmir by a US envoy was by Kenneth Juster in 2018, shortly after the fall of the PDP-BJP government.
Crucially, it also marks a return to direct engagement between the US envoy and J&K’s government.
‘WASHINGTON WON’T SOLVE OUR PROBLEMS’
However, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah refused to hype up the visit, emphasising that he would not be raising any complaints about Kashmir with the US envoy. Since his National Conference came to power in J&K, Abdullah has been persistently demanding the restoration of J&K’s statehood.
“Washington won’t solve our problems; the Centre will. I would rather listen to him instead of complaining,” Abdullah told reporters.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
