On Thursday (March 9), the spokesperson for the US State Department, Ned Price, was repeatedly asked by a Pakistani journalist why the USA is not making India ‘talk’ to Pakistan.
The journalist, identified as Jahanzaib Ali from the now-suspended ARY News, claimed, “Pakistan offered to have peace talks with India many times, but Indian Government tried to avoid that. So when you engage with Indian authorities, what reason do they say? Why they don’t want to talk to Pakistan about the pending issues?
Ned Price remarked, “…We support diplomacy between India and Pakistan to resolve, again, another set of longstanding disputes. We are a partner. We are willing to support that process in any way that they deem appropriate, but ultimately these are decisions that India and Pakistan themselves are going to have to make.”
But ultimately these are decisions that India and Pakistan themselves are going to have to make…It is not for the United States to determine the modalities or the way in which India and Pakistan engage one another: US State Department Spox Ned Price
— ANI (@ANI) March 9, 2023
Despite being made clear that the United States can only intervene if both India and Pakistan ask for it and both parties agree to it, Ali pestered Ned Price to make a statement. He asked, “Many analysts believe that the US has the power and authority to mediate between the two partners (Pakistan and India)…So why don’t you just mediate?
The spokesperson for the US State Department pointed out, “Because these are decisions for the countries themselves. If they agree on a particular role for the United States, the United States is prepared to, as a partner to both countries, support that process in any way that we responsibly can.”
“But ultimately, it is not for the United States to determine the modalities or the way in which India and Pakistan engage one another. What we support is constructive dialogue, meaningful diplomacy between India and Pakistan in the first instance to resolve longstanding conflicts,” Ned Price snubbed Ali.
US State Department spokesperson rebuffs Pakistani journalist on BBC documentary
Earlier in January this year, a Pakistani journalist named Jalil Afridi was slammed by Ned Price after the former tried to rake up the BBC documentary on Indian PM Narendra Modi to sour the bilateral relations between the two countries.
At about 1 hour and 2 minutes into the press briefing, he claimed that the United States has compromised on its value by refusing to condemn Narendra Modi for his supposed involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots (an insinuation made by the BBC’s propaganda documentary).
Ned Price responded, “I am not aware of this documentary that you point to, but I will say broadly is that there are a number of elements that undergird the global strategic partnership that we have with our Indian partners.”
Ned denies seeing BBC documentary on Modi’s Massacre in Gujrat, India https://t.co/HFIblCpZW9
— Jalil Afridi (@afridijalil) January 24, 2023
“There are close political ties, there are economic ties, there are exceptionally deep people-to-people ties between the United States and India. But one of those additional elements are the values that we share, the values that are common to American democracy and to Indian democracy,” he emphasised.
“India, of course, is the world’s largest democracy. It’s a vibrant democracy. And again, we look to everything that ties us together, and we look to reinforce all of those elements that tie us together,” the US State Department spokesperson schooled the Pakistani journalist.
