Sun May 11 12:00:00 UTC 2025: ## India Rejects US Offer to Mediate Kashmir Dispute, Demands PoK Return
**New Delhi, [Date]** – While a ceasefire is in effect along the India-Pakistan border, diplomatic tensions remain high. US President Donald Trump’s offer to mediate the decades-old Kashmir dispute has been welcomed by Pakistan but firmly rejected by India.
Following a recent ceasefire brokered, allegedly, by the US, President Trump offered to mediate the Kashmir issue, referring to it as a problem existing for “thousands of years.” Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif expressed appreciation for the offer, stating that a comprehensive resolution encompassing Kashmir, water sharing, and other contentious issues should be pursued.
However, India has categorically rejected any third-party mediation. Sources within the Indian Ministry of External Affairs reiterated India’s stance that Kashmir is a bilateral issue and that no outside intervention will be accepted. India made it clear that dialogue is only possible if Pakistan returns Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) or hands over terrorists operating from its soil. Any other discussion, including on the Kashmir issue itself, is off the table.
India’s strong response follows earlier statements from the Indian government rejecting mediation. This latest statement represents a hardening of India’s position, shifting the focus from the Kashmir dispute to the return of PoK as a precondition for any talks.
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