Kathmandu N.P.Upadhyaya: The US President Donald Trump is a bit different political stuff.

It visibly appears that President Trump is not that happy with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Das Modi.

Is it that President Trump dislikes Modi’s hug? Could be.

Caring little about what the Indian reaction would be, President Trump within a short span of ten days or so, has ‘repeated’ his offer for the mediation in Kashmir-conflict-settlement should Prime Minister Modi and PM Khan so desire collectively.

Trump’s second mediation offer came on August 1, 2019.

President Trump first talked of his intent to mediate in the Kashmir issue right at a joint press conference held in the Oval office July 22, 2019, with the visiting Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan.

He however, told PM Khan that if Pakistan too desired for his mediatory role as PM Modi wished, he would be readily available for some help to both India and Pakistan in aiding the two countries to sort out the Kashmir imbroglio as a mediator.

Listening to President’s offer of the mediation, the closely seated PM Khan immediately gave his positive nod to President Trump.

PM Khan’s nod made inside the White House on July 22 perhaps unnerved the Indian establishment.

India is in a state of panic.

The US President’s announcement that he was “appealed” by PM Modi to mediate in the lingering Kashmir conflict when PM Modi met him in Osaka, Japan at the G20 meet, jolted the entire Indian political establishment to the extent that the Indian opposition political parties took their own Prime Minister as a man versed in double talk. He is in fact.

Many in India believed that President Trump must have spoken correct on Kashmir issue simply because had PM Modi not appealed him for a mediation he would not have talked so boldly in front of the International media gathering on July 22, last month and that too in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan-the declared bete noir of PM Modi if it could be said.

Naturally a political personality of the stature of the US President Donald Trump must not have told a lie as is being disseminated by the “fake” media.

However, the entire Modified media aka initiated a tirade against President Trump stating that Trump was a fickle minded President and that he speaks anything under the sun.

Some fake Indian media used even abusive words to President Trump.

A stunned Indian foreign ministry quickly issued a statement ridiculing President Trump’s announcement and dubbed his remarks on Kashmir as “unwarranted”.

The Foreign ministry defended PM Modi and made it known to all and sundry that PM Modi had never “appealed” President Trump to mediate on Kashmir issue.

Making a statement in the Indian Parliament the newly appointed foreign minister, S. Jay Shankar-a BJP Card holder, out rightly rejected the claim made by President Donald Trump that he had been “appealed” by PM Modi to mediate in the overly stretched Kashmir issue.
FM Shankar reiterated the standard Indian stance on Kashmir that this issue could only be settled bilaterally and that “no third party” mediation was desirable.

The Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar on Friday responded to US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate again on Kashmir issue by asserting that any dialogue with Pakistan on the matter, if at all warranted, will take place bilaterally.

FM Jaishankar conveyed this message to the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit Foreign Minister and ASEAN meetings in Thailand.

Keeping the Indian stance aside, what is more than clear is that pressure is building on India. More so President Trump’s mediation offer is chasing PM Modi like never before. India has reasons to feel scared this time.

With the express US mediation offer the international pressure too has increased in these days from various corners of the world who wish peace to prevail in the South Asian region troubled and dominated by the regional bully-the Indian establishment.

President Trump appears to have realized better late than never that India is the regional bully.

A British MP Jessica Rose Phillips has said that they would seek from their new Prime Minister Boris Johnson some statements of intent about what is going on in the region “as we have seen the United States of America talking in this last week around the issue in Kashmir”, writes the Express Tribune, August 2, 2019.

The British MP in a video clip circulated on social media, has said, that “This is a problem that has a long history in Britain and we would hope to seek some comments, some decision-making, some action finally from the British prime minister working with America and other partners and certainly Pakistan and India in the region to make sure that the human rights violations that we know have been going on in the area can be finally solved and the issue of self-determination should be something that is on the British foreign policy agenda”, adds the Tribune.

Philips, currently on a visit to Azad Jammu & Kashmir, in a statement issued in AJK’s metropolis on Friday, urged Britain especially the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to perform his due role for the settlement of Kashmir issue.

Ashok Swain, a Swedish Professor of the Indian origin says, “Kashmir valley has been the most militarized zone of the world for decades. Within one week, the Modi-Shah-Doval Troika adds 35 000 more troops. Whether they scrap Article 370 and Article 35 or not, they are at least going to play “Holi” in the valley”. (Twitter August 1, 2019).

PM Modi and PM Khan both are expected to meet President Trump next month while attending the UN General Assembly.