US envoy’s Kashmir ‘part of India’ remark rattles Pakistan ties

Seven words, spoken almost in passing on a recent afternoon in Srinagar, have set off a diplomatic tremor across South Asia.“This is an important part of India,” Sergio Gor told reporters on August 19, during the first visit by a US ambassador to Indian-administered Kashmir" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="166003" data-entity-type="location">Jammu and Kashmir in six years.Within hours, Pakistan had summoned the top American diplomat in Islamabad, Natalie Baker, to deliver a formal protest.Kashmir, a disputed Himalayan region claimed in full by both India and Pakistan, has been the casus belli for no fewer than three wars between the nuclear-armed arch-rivals, as well as numerous other skirmishes and border stand-offs since their independence and partition in 1947.A paramilitary policeman waves India’s national flag in Srinagar, Indian-administered Kashmir, on August 14, the eve of the country’s Independence Day celebrations. Photo: ReutersIndia now administers the populous central and southern Kashmir valley, while Pakistan controls a western portion of the region known as Kashmir" class="entity-link entity-location" data-entity-id="195976" data-entity-type="location">Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.