Bruised by Sergio Gor’s Jammu & Kashmir visit and remarks, a peeved Pakistan summons US charge d’affairs to Islamabad

New Delhi: Pakistan on Wednesday summoned the US charge d’affaires in Islamabad and lodged a formal diplomatic protest after the US ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, visited Jammu & Kashmir and described the Union territory as an “important part of India”, as RNA Media reported earlier. Islamabad also objected to Gor’s remarks suggesting that Washington could review its existing travel warning for the region.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry said it had conveyed a “strong demarche” over what it called “factually incorrect remarks” by the American envoy regarding the status of Jammu & Kashmir. It rejected Gor’s characterization of the region as part of India and reiterated Pakistan’s longstanding position that Kashmir remained a disputed territory whose final status should be determined under UN security council resolutions.

The protest followed Gor’s first visit to Jammu & Kashmir since taking office, during which he met the chief minister, Omar Abdullah, in Srinagar. Speaking after the meeting, the US envoy called Jammu & Kashmir an “important part of India” and said Washington would examine whether its existing travel advisory for the region could be downgraded.

The US currently categorizes Jammu & Kashmir under its highest Level 4 travel warning, advising American citizens not to travel there because of terrorism and civil unrest. Gor, however, said the US periodically reassessed such warnings and indicated that improved security conditions and the region’s tourism potential would be taken into account, although he stopped short of announcing any immediate revision.

His remarks appeared to have particularly rankled Islamabad because they came from Washington’s serving ambassador to India during an official visit to Srinagar. Pakistan’s foreign ministry claimed the statement was inconsistent with what it described as the United States’ longstanding position on Kashmir and urged Washington to ensure that future public statements reflected what Islamabad considers the region’s “disputed status”.

The Pakistani statement also invoked the past offer by the US president, Donald Trump, to mediate between India and Pakistan on Kashmir. New Delhi has consistently rejected any third-party mediation, maintaining that Jammu & Kashmir is an integral part of India and that outstanding issues with Pakistan can only be addressed bilaterally.

For India, Gor’s language was significant because it came alongside discussions on expanding economic engagement in Jammu & Kashmir. His talks with Abdullah covered tourism, horticulture and the “new economy”, with both sides indicating that further discussions could take place in New Delhi and Washington.

Abdullah also made clear that internal political issues concerning Jammu & Kashmir were matters to be addressed with the Indian government rather than foreign capitals. Gor is scheduled to travel to Ladakh on Thursday as part of the next leg of his visit, extending an itinerary that has already triggered an unusually sharp reaction from Islamabad.