Kashmir is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in Kolkata on Saturday while reacting to US president-elect Barack Obama's views on the issue. MEA Mukherjee was speaking on the sidelines of a function in the city.
"Essentially, it has been stated that it (Kashmir) is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan,"said the MEA.
Mukherjee was responding to reporters' queries on Obama's interview with Joe Klein of Time magazine, in which he spoke about his desire to play a more pro-active role in helping India and Pakistan resolve the six-decade old dispute.
Obama is also reportedly mulling appointment of former US president Bill Clinton as a special envoy on Kashmir.
Obama's remarks caused disquiet in New Delhi and were seen as an attempt by the US to play an interventionist's role on the issue.
Mukherjee said: "The (Kashmir) problem needed to be solved under the Simla agreement and the Lahore pact signed later." The Simla agreement was signed between India and Pakistan in 1972.
The minister also referred to the series of discussions between the two nations within the framework of a composite dialogue.
He sidestepped a query on Obama being opposed to outsourcing by US companies, saying it was an internal matter of that nation.
"We will comment on it when the need arises," he added.
Mukherjee was attending the curtainraiser to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit 2008 scheduled to take place in New Delhi on November 13.
The BIMSTEC is a seven-nation bloc that acts as a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia. The grouping comprises India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar and Thailand.
"Essentially, it has been stated that it (Kashmir) is a bilateral issue between India and Pakistan,"said the MEA.
Mukherjee was responding to reporters' queries on Obama's interview with Joe Klein of Time magazine, in which he spoke about his desire to play a more pro-active role in helping India and Pakistan resolve the six-decade old dispute.
Obama is also reportedly mulling appointment of former US president Bill Clinton as a special envoy on Kashmir.
Obama's remarks caused disquiet in New Delhi and were seen as an attempt by the US to play an interventionist's role on the issue.
Mukherjee said: "The (Kashmir) problem needed to be solved under the Simla agreement and the Lahore pact signed later." The Simla agreement was signed between India and Pakistan in 1972.
The minister also referred to the series of discussions between the two nations within the framework of a composite dialogue.
He sidestepped a query on Obama being opposed to outsourcing by US companies, saying it was an internal matter of that nation.
"We will comment on it when the need arises," he added.
Mukherjee was attending the curtainraiser to the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit 2008 scheduled to take place in New Delhi on November 13.
The BIMSTEC is a seven-nation bloc that acts as a bridge between South Asia and Southeast Asia. The grouping comprises India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar and Thailand.
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