Sharif repeats call for US mediation on Kashmir issue

Notwithstanding US refusal to intervene on the Kashmir issue, Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif today repeated his call for American mediation to resolve the dispute.
Addressing a news conference in London on his way back home after meeting US President Barack Obama in Washington, Sharif said Pakistan wants the US to intervene in the matter despite India's objection.
"I have read and heard Indian Foreign Minister's reaction to my earlier statement. We should talk to each other, and this would be a very good thing," he said.
"But if bilateral negotiations do not succeed, then if a third party helps in resolving the issue, there is no harm in it," Sharif was quoted as saying by state-run APP news agency.

Sharif insisted that the US should play its role for settling the Kashmir issue.
After his meeting with Obama, Sharif himself disclosed that he discussed Pakistan's relations with India, including the Kashmir issue.
But Sharif did not give details of what aspect of the Kashmir issue he raised nor did he talk about Obama's response.
Before his arrival in Washington, Sharif had sought US intervention to resolve the Kashmir issue, but the Obama Administration quickly dismissed his plea, saying there had not been an "iota of change" in its policy on Kashmir which it considers a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan.