Credit US Ambassador Sergio Gor for providing correct perspective on Jammu and Kashmir: Harsh Vardhan Shringla

Indias former Ambassador to the United States and BJP MP Harsh Vardhan Shringla on Friday credited US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor for providing a correct perspective on Jammu and Kashmir by calling it as an important part of India during his visit to Srinagar earlier this weekThe American envoy visited Srinagar on August 19 and made a significant endorsement of Indias stated position on Jammu and Kashmir by describing the Union Territory as an important part of India with Chief Minister Omar Abdullah standing by his sideShringla a former Foreign Secretary cited that Gors statement is important for two reasonsOne is that there has been no such statement in the past by the United States Their statements have been nuanced and more coloured by other factors including the fact that there is an issue in the United Nations and also of course their own position visavis how they look at it between India and Pakistan So one is that he made a categorical statement that is very very significant the Rajya Sabha MP told IANS in an exclusive chatSecondly Sergio Gor is not an ordinary representative of the United States He is a very close associate of the President of the United States Hes also Ambassador not just in India but he covers the whole of South and Central Asia which means that he has a coverage of the entire region and therefore he speaks beyond what I think would be simply as the Ambassador to India I think from that point of view the US Ambassador visiting Jammu and Kashmir going to Srinagar meeting the Chief Minister and making that statement is very very significant he addedHe highlighted that there has been a lot of ground that has been covered since the previous visits to Kashmir by previous United States Ambassadors to India including Robert Blackwill and Kenneth Juster who had visited Srinagar along with envoys from 14 other countries in 2020Justers participation said Shringla was a very strong manifestation of the US support for our position on the abrogation of Article 370 and also put paid to many of the issues that were coming up in US Congress and other places on the issueThe seasoned diplomat turned MP said that there is no more ambiguity with regard to the status of Jammu and Kashmir now with the abrogation of Article 370 bringing Kashmir into the mainstream of polity and economy and the people of JampampK fully integrated with the rest of the countryThey are also seeing you know the levels of economic development and progress in India under Prime Minister Modi mdash huge amounts of I would say development that is benefiting them directly A surge in tourism in Jammu and Kashmir and that was also I think greatly helped by the G20 meeting that we scheduled in Srinagar I was chief coordinator of G20 at that time I thought it was a game changer the decision taken by the Prime Minister to have G20 in Jammu and Kashmir in Srinagar Shringla the Chief Coordinator for Indias G20 Presidency told IANSThen of course the fact that they look on the other side and see Pakistanoccupied Kashmir they see the lack of freedom the lack of economic development they see the hardships and tribulations that their counterparts on the other side of the border are going through and I dont think they want a future that is going to be similar he statedGors visit to Srinagar came at a time when massive protests continue to rock Pakistanoccupied Kashmir PoK where dozens of protestors have been killed facing the brutality of Pakistani forces over the past few months Here is the whole of PoK saying we want to come and become a part of India so why would you want to go and join that when youre on the right side of the fence And I think this is something that is a great achievement for India and Ambassador Sergio Gor whom I know very well is someone who doesnt make statements casually He is hes obviously you know someone who calibrates what he says Hes as I said someone whos very important in the US administration and he is someone who I think sees things more from a political point of view than previous diplomats career diplomats who have been limited in their visionAnd I would certainly credit him Gor with providing a perspective that is not only correct but also both in the United States and internationally sends a strong signal that this is no longer an issue This is something that countries should now recognise is not an international issue that the whole of Jammu and Kashmir is an integral part of India Shringla told IANSThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever