Pakistan’s Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has asked the US President Barack Obama to play a role in resolving the issue of Kashmir when he travels to India or its Republic Day celebrations, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said.

It said Sharif made this request when Obama called him on Friday. It said Sharif and Obama discussed recent incidents of Indian troops firing across the Line of Control. The two leaders spoke hours after Pakistan blamed the Indian Army for killing a soldier in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.

Sharif told Obama that the recent cancellation of ministerial-level talks by India and the cross-border gunfire incidents indicated that India was averse to normalization of relations with Pakistan. “Thus, while we remain open to the resumption of bilateral dialogue, the onus is on India to create a conducive environment in this regard,” Sharif told Obama. Sharif urged “Obama to take up the cause of Kashmir with the Indian leadership, as its early resolution would bring enduring peace, stability and economic cooperation to Asia,” it said. Obama assured Sharif that he would visit Pakistan soon.

 
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