SRINAGAR/NEW DELHI: In a rare public affirmation of India’s sovereignty over J&K by a top US diplomat, ambassador Sergio Gor said Wednesday the UT is an important part of India and said Washington will consider downgrading its highest “do not travel” warning for J&K.Gor made the remarks in a joint briefing with J&K CM Omar Abdullah in Srinagar, during what’s the first standalone visit by a US envoy to the UT after abrogation of Art 370 in 2019. His remarks are seen by Indian officials as validating India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and post-2018 counterterror strategy and governance reforms. Later, Pakistan summoned the US Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad and lodged a demarche.Pakistan summoned the US Charge d’Affaires in Islamabad to lodge a “strong protest” over what it described as factually incorrect, referring to remarks by Gor on the status of J&K. Pakistan also claimed Gor’s “irresponsible” statement negated the long-standing position of US on J&K.“US puts out travel warnings and every so often, we re-evaluate those travel warnings. I cannot make any big announcements here today, but it is something we are going to look at,” said Gor who will visit Ladakh Thursday.“New Delhi, the chief minister here, the govt here, we believe have made some incredible steps to keeping this area safer and making it more safe,” added Gor.In remarks that could signal to other western countries to re-evaluate their own travel advisories, Gor said a lot of Americans would “enjoy coming here and seeing the beauty and the opportunities that exist here”.“So, we will be looking at if the travel warning that is imposed and recommended by US is something that should be downgraded because, as I said earlier, this is a beautiful area,” he said.US State Department currently maintains Level-4 travel warning for J&K. To downgrade the advisory, according to American authorities, US verifies sustained reductions in terror incidents, long-term political stability, ease of movement for foreign nationals, and reliable emergency consular access. Gor called on Abdullah at his residence soon after reaching Srinagar.
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“I am thrilled to be here. We just had a very good meeting and we have some follow-ups that we hope to take back to Washington (and) back to Delhi. But a very warm, a very cordial meeting and we look forward to building this relationship forward,” he said.Abdullah said he discussed with Gor the relations between Delhi and Washington with a specific focus on J&K. “It was a very good meeting. We had an opportunity to discuss the relations between our two countries, but with a specific focus on what US can do with J&K,” the CM said.“There are obviously certain legacy issues that over time we will be working to resolve. But we look forward to taking this conversation further…” Abdullah said.
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